Guinea’s Main Opposition Parties Call for Withdrawal from Junta-led Legislative Body

Guinea’s President Mamadi Doumbouya addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on Sept. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

8:34 AM EST, January 16, 2025

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — The main opposition coalition in Guinea has called for its members to withdraw from the country’s legislative body after the ruling junta missed a deadline for a return to democratic rule.

The Forces Vives de Guinée coalition group, which includes the country’s main opposition parties, called for its members to withdraw from the National Transitional Council in a statement late Wednesday. The council has served as the parliament since the military took power two years ago.

Guinea is one of several West African countries where the military has taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule. The country’s leader, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, in power since 2021, agreed in 2022 to launch a democratic transition after a Dec. 31, 2024, deadline.

The ruling junta’s failure to meet the deadline led to opposition protests that paralyzed Guinea’s capital Conakry last week.

But in his New Year’s message, Doumbouya said a decree for a constitutional referendum will be signed to launch the democratic process, without committing to a date. Activists and opposition groups condemned the announcement as a ploy to prolong military rule.

The junta dissolved more than 50 political parties last year in a move it claimed was to “clean up the political chessboard.”

The junta has also tightened the grip on independent media, rights groups say, with social networks and private radio stations often cut off, information sites interrupted or suspended for several months without explanation, while journalists face attacks and arrests.

The National Transitional Council is in part tasked with drafting the country’s new constitution. It is composed of 81 members, including 15 representatives of political parties, but also youth leaders, security forces, unions, business leaders and others. All were appointed by the junta.

The Forces Vives de Guinée is the main opposition force in the legislative body with three representatives. The coalition includes the Rally of the Guinean People, which is the party of former President Alpha Condé, and another major opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea. The two parties won more than 90% of the vote in the country’s last presidential election in 2020.