Guinea’s President Wins Third Term in Elections
Guinean President Alpha Condé won his third term in office, according to the electoral commission’s vote, on October 24.
Running against Cellou Dalein Diallo, the president won 59.5 percent of the vote to secure his victory; his opponent won 33.5 percent of the vote. In years past, completing a third term would have been illegal for a president—however, with the new referendum signed in March, he notes that his reelection is fair. Although this ongoing majority vote needs confirmation from the Constitutional Court, his reelection resulted in a rise in violent protests across the country.
Going into the presidency, Condé held four major goals: 1) to revamp Guinea’s new democracy, 2) to utilize natural resources for wealth through increased mining, 3) to mend tensions within Guinea between ethnic groups, and 4) to check the increasing power of the military to offer balance within the government.
Despite the fact that his economic governance held some success, Alpha Condé’s reputation remains questionable. While his campaign’s objectives for the country weren’t entirely controversial, his corruption scandals, poor military interactions with the public, and rigged election strategies defamed him in the eyes of many citizens.
Alpha Condé has been accused of using brutal methods against the public during protests, inflaming ethnic tensions when they needed alleviation, and slowing the progress of Guinea in relation to other African countries. Critics also note that under Condé’s economy, economic growth has “not filtered down to the bulk of the population,” and his policies have resulted in further unemployment.
In relation to the 2020 election, riots began when he announced his candidacy and have since been exacerbated by his recent victory.
Much of public opposition stems from the fact that Condé is currently serving a third term as a result of the referendum in March, which involved his own approval. Citizens feel anger at how one of their key historic values is a fair democracy, yet Condé fails to facilitate a smooth transition of power.
From October 18 to October 24, deadly violence ensued as the opposition noted that 27 people were killed, but government officials only reported 10 casualties. Akwasi Osei, a professor at Delaware State University, explains that “nobody really seems to know exactly what’s going on; they cut off the internet and there’s no telephone communication.”
Tensions are incredibly high in Guinea and will continue to escalate if the Constitutional Court confirms the majority vote.