By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Deadline for candidates to file for the December 28 presidential election in Guinea ended on Monday, as campaigns begin to take shapes amidst crackdown on opposition leaders.
The transitional leader, President Mamadi Doumbouya is also expected to run despite an earlier promise not to.
Four candidates representing minor parties submitted their applications by Monday, beating the deadline set by the Supreme Court. They include, ministers Ousmane Kaba and Amadou Thierno Diallo, former Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté, and Ben Youssouf Keita.
Absent from the list of filings include the country’s three major political parties – the UFDG, RPG and UFR whose leaders were barred from running due to age limits or exile.
Opposition figure Aliou Bah remains imprisoned. Newly amended constitution allows Doumbouya to run.
The election follows September’s constitutional referendum that extended presidential terms from five to seven years and granted immunity to former Presidents.
These changes, along with provisions allowing independent candidates, have fuelled speculations that Colonel Doumbouya who seized power in a 2021 coup will join in the contest.
His closest allies have recently called for “continuity” of his leadership.
The December 28 election marks Guinea’s first presidential vote since the military takeover, representing a key test for the country’s democratic transition.
However, with major political forces excluded and the transitional leader positioned to run under new constitutional rules that favour the incumbent, the process faces significant questions about its inclusiveness and credibility.
The Supreme Court has until November 13 to publish the final candidate list.
