{"id":455644,"date":"2025-12-26T13:31:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T13:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2025\/12\/26\/guineans-head-to-polls-as-doumbouya-closes-campaign-amid-democracy-concerns\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T13:31:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T13:31:42","slug":"guineans-head-to-polls-as-doumbouya-closes-campaign-amid-democracy-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2025\/12\/26\/guineans-head-to-polls-as-doumbouya-closes-campaign-amid-democracy-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Guineans head to polls as Doumbouya closes campaign amid democracy concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"article-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ghanaweb.com\/imagelib\/pics\/828\/82897469.295.jpg\" alt=\"Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya is Guinea's military leader\" title=\"Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya is Guinea's military leader\" width=\"295\" height=\"146\" \/> <span class=\"image_caption\"><span>Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya is Guinea&#8217;s military leader<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"-webkit-user-select: none; -webkit-touch-callout: none; -moz-user-select: none; -ms-user-select: none; user-select: none;\">\n<p id=\"article-123\">Supporters and critics of Guinea\u2019s military leader made their voices heard Thursday as Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya held his final campaign rally in Conakry ahead of Sunday\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m here to support Mamadi Doumbouya because of his kindness, for the job opportunities he gave to the people who need it, and for the efforts he did for us, for the population,\u201d said voter Mariame Kourouma, who joined thousands at the Palace of the People. \u201cSo we are here to support him as the president of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rally marked the close of campaigning for Guinea\u2019s first presidential vote since the 2021 military coup that brought Doumbouya to power. The election comes after years of political instability and amid growing concerns over democratic backsliding across West Africa.<\/p>\n<p>While Doumbouya enjoys strong public backing among supporters who credit him with infrastructure development and anti-corruption efforts, the campaign period has been overshadowed by a crackdown on dissent. Major opposition figures have been sidelined, with some barred from running or forced into exile.<\/p>\n<p>Among Doumbouya\u2019s challengers is Abdoulaye Yero Bald\u00e9, a former education minister under ex-president Alpha Cond\u00e9. His candidacy has drawn attention from opposition supporters who see him as a symbol of resistance to constitutional manipulation.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>\u201cSince Alpha Cond\u00e9 asked Yero Bald\u00e9 to follow him into a third term, he said no, Mr. President, I cannot follow you,\u201d said Mohamed Lamine Bangoura, an opposition supporter. \u201cWe told the Guinean people we would restore democracy. After two terms, we leave power and another group comes.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Bald\u00e9 resigned from government in protest after Cond\u00e9 pursued and won a controversial third term \u2014 a move that sparked unrest and ultimately preceded the 2021 coup that ousted Cond\u00e9 just a year later.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Guinea\u2019s vast mineral wealth, more than half of its estimated 15 million people live in poverty and face food insecurity. Doumbouya has campaigned on promises of modernization and economic development, pointing to new roads, public works projects and a new constitution approved in a referendum boycotted by the opposition.<\/p>\n<p>The junta has repeatedly delayed a return to civilian rule, ultimately clearing the way for Doumbouya to seek a newly extended seven-year term.<\/p>\n<p>Around 6.7 million registered voters are expected to cast ballots at more than 24,000 polling stations nationwide. Results are expected within 48 hours, with a runoff possible if no candidate secures an outright majority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya is Guinea&#8217;s military leader Supporters and critics of Guinea\u2019s military leader made their voices heard Thursday as Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya held his final campaign rally in Conakry ahead of Sunday\u2019s presidential election. \u201cI\u2019m here to support Mamadi Doumbouya because of his kindness, for the job opportunities he gave to the people who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":455645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-455644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Guineans head to polls as Doumbouya closes campaign amid democracy concerns - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2025\/12\/26\/guineans-head-to-polls-as-doumbouya-closes-campaign-amid-democracy-concerns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guineans head to polls as Doumbouya closes campaign amid democracy concerns - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya is Guinea&#8217;s military leader Supporters and critics of Guinea\u2019s military leader made their voices heard Thursday as Gen. 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