Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The Forces Vives de Guinée, a powerful coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups, have condemned General Mamadi Doumbouya’s decision to run in the December 28 presidential election, branding it “a betrayal” of the transition process he once vowed to uphold.
In a blistering statement issued on Monday, the coalition accused the junta leader of “trampling on the Charter of the Transition” and violating his public oath before the Supreme Court, the Guinean people, and the international community.
According to the Forces Vives, Doumbouya’s candidacy “constitutes perjury and treason” against the very framework that guided his seizure of power in 2021.
They cited Article 46 of the Transitional Charter, which explicitly bars members of the ruling National Committee of Reconciliation and Development (CNRD) from contesting elections, marking the end of the transition.
The coalition that includes political leaders like former President Alpha Condé and his long time opponent Seydou Dallein Diallo also invoked Article 25(4) of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, which prohibits those who lead unconstitutional takeovers from running in subsequent polls.
Beyond the legal concerns, the Forces Vives accused Doumbouya’s administration of gross human rights abuses, corruption, and suppression of fundamental freedoms. “More than 60 young protesters have been killed; others disappeared or died in detention,” the statement read, decrying “massive violations of human rights and a justice system used as a weapon of repression.”
The coalition vowed not to “endorse the confiscation of power” and called for a nationwide mobilization to “defend democracy and the people’s inalienable right to freely choose their leaders.”
“When a people no longer defend their freedoms, they become ripe for slavery,” the statement warned.
Doumbouya, Unmoved, Rallies His Campaign Team
Despite the growing outcry, General Doumbouya appeared undeterred. Shortly after filing his candidacy papers, the transitional president embarked on a day of political consultations and strategic meetings with his campaign team under the banner of his new political movement, Génération pour la Modernité et le Développement (GMD).
Accompanied by his closest aides, including Prime Minister Bah Oury, Ministers Faya François Bourouno and Mariama Sylla, and senior officials from the presidency, Doumbouya met with his inner circle in Kaloum to chart his campaign path.
Observers say the move signals a full-fledged transition from military rule to electoral politics, one that Doumbouya and his team are keen to frame as a “continuation of national modernization.”
Supreme Court Sets Up Medical Board Amid Suspicions
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Guinea announced the establishment of a special medical board tasked with verifying the physical and mental fitness of all presidential candidates. The board, under the court’s authority, is expected to begin examinations immediately ahead of the December poll.
While the move is officially described as a constitutional requirement, many political observers view it with suspicion. Critics fear it could be used to eliminate veteran opposition figures such as former Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté on medical grounds, a tactic some see as part of a broader plan to sideline potential challengers to Doumbouya.
As the transition enters its most volatile phase, Guinea now faces a defining political test, one pitting a self-styled reformist soldier against a coalition determined to block what it calls a “betrayal of the people’s revolution.”
