Key points:
- Alpha Condé accuses Guinea’s junta of silencing opposition parties
- Military suspends 28 parties, dissolves 27 others amid crackdown
- Promised elections for 2024 delayed, raising democratic concerns
FORMER Guinean President Alpha Condé has accused the country’s ruling military junta of attempting to ‘subjugate’ the political opposition. His remarks follow the junta’s decision to suspend dozens of political parties, including his own Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG), sparking concerns over the shrinking space for democratic participation in the West African nation.
The military government, led by General Mamadi Doumbouya, announced on Friday that it was suspending 28 political parties for three months. Among them are the RPG and the Union of Republican Forces (UFR), led by fellow exiled politician Sidya Touré. Both former leaders have been living abroad since the military seized power in a coup d’état in 2021.
According to reports from AFP, the junta claims that these parties failed to meet legal requirements, including holding national congresses and providing official bank account details over the past three months. Authorities also dissolved 27 other political groups and placed an additional four parties under official observation.
Meanwhile, the military has authorised 75 political parties to continue their activities, including the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), headed by another prominent exiled leader, Cellou Dalein Diallo. However, these parties have been given strict conditions—they must organise their congresses within 45 days.
Mounting tensions and disappearing leaders
These latest moves by the junta come amid an increasingly tense political climate. Several opposition leaders have reportedly disappeared in recent months, and there are mounting allegations of restrictions on civil liberties and political freedoms.
Alpha Condé took to social media on Saturday, denouncing the military government’s actions. ‘The junta wants to silence you,’ he said in his post. ‘It is trying to impose on you a choice that is not yours: that of submission and renunciation.’
Opposition parties inside Guinea and abroad have also voiced alarm. On Friday, a coalition of opposition groups released a joint statement accusing the military of deliberately attempting to ‘weaken or even eliminate from the political scene the most representative parties in the country.’
Unfulfilled promises and delayed elections
The military government initially pledged, under pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other international bodies, to return power to an elected civilian government by the end of 2024. However, that deadline has quietly slipped by. In his New Year’s address, General Doumbouya declared that 2025 would be ‘a crucial electoral year to return to the constitutional order,’ but scepticism remains high.
Human rights advocates and regional observers fear that the junta’s latest crackdown on political parties further undermines Guinea’s chances of holding free and fair elections next year.
