Guinea polling stations open for legislative elections

Guineans voted on Sunday in legislative and municipal elections, five years after the military seized power in a September 2021 coup. The vote is seen as a key step in the country’s return to constitutional rule.

Nearly seven million people were eligible to cast ballots. Voters are electing 147 members of parliament. Polling stations opened in the morning and closed in the evening, with official results expected in the coming days.

The Forces Vives de Guinee coalition, which includes the main opposition parties and civil society groups, had called for a boycott following the ban of several opposition parties in March 2026. Despite the boycott call, voting proceeded without major incidents.

Campaigns unfolded peacefully, and early voter turnout was low, according to AFP journalists in Conakry, the capital. Some polling stations reported sparse crowds in the morning hours.

Mamadi Doumbouya, who led the September 2021 coup, was elected president for a seven-year term last December. He had initially promised to return power to civilians after a transition period. Sunday’s elections are part of that transition.

International observers were present to monitor the process. The government deployed security forces across the country to ensure order.

SOURCE: AFP