File photo: Officials count ballots at a polling station as polls close during the presidential election in Conakry, Guinea (Picture credit: AP)
CONAKRY: Junta leader Gen Mamdi Doumbouya was declared the winner of Guinea’s presidential election held over the weekend, according to incomplete results released late on Tuesday, the country’s first election since a 2021 coup.Doumbouya won 86.72% of the votes counted so far, according to the General Directorate of Elections. Ahead of the vote on Sunday, analysts had predicted that a weakened opposition would result in Doumbouya’s win.The election was widely seen as a means to legitimize Doumbouya’s stay in power. It was also the culmination of a transition process that began four years ago after Doumbouya ousted President Alpha Conde. The junta leader has since clamped down on opposition and dissent, critics say, leaving him with no major opponents among the eight other candidates who were in the race.More than 50 political parties were dissolved, and major opposition candidates were either banned from contesting on the grounds of technicalities or were in exile following the clampdown.Lesser-known Yero Balde, a former education minister in Alpha Conde’s government, came a distant second with 6.51% of the votes. The directorate said that 80.95% of the registered 6.7 million voters had voted in the election.After seizing power, Doumbouya had said that he and other military officers would not run in elections. However, a September referendum allowed officers to run and extended the presidential term from five to seven years. Rich in mineral resources with a 15-million-strong population, half of the country is mired in poverty and experiences record levels of food insecurity, according to the World Food Program. The Simandou iron ore project, a 75% Chinese-owned mega mining project at the world’s largest iron deposit, has been the focal point of infrastructural and economic revitalization for the junta. Production at the site began last month after decades of delay. The authorities are banking on the project to create thousands of jobs and open investments in other sectors, including education and health.Guinea is one of the several West African countries that have seen a coup or coup attempt since 2020. Military officers have taken on popular discontent with deteriorating security, underwhelming economies, or disputed elections to seize power. Since November, Guinea-Bissau and Benin have also gone through coups.