Gambiaj.com – (CONAKRY, Guinea)- The Guinean government has introduced sweeping new rules governing the existence and operation of political parties, imposing a strict compliance deadline that coincides with the date set for legislative and local elections in May.
In an official communiqué, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization announced the entry into force of a new legal framework regulating political parties, following the promulgation of Organic Law LO/2025/035/CNT on November 21, 2025.
Under Article 51 of the law, all legally constituted political parties are granted a six-month transitional period, from November 25, 2025 to May 25, 2026, to align themselves with the new requirements.
Beyond that deadline, any party that fails to comply will automatically lose its legal status, without prejudice to additional sanctions, the ministry warned.
Stricter Conditions for Legal Recognition
The new framework significantly raises the bar for party registration and continued recognition.
Political formations must update their statutes and internal regulations.
They must also organize extraordinary congresses at all levels to formalize compliance and ensure that at least 30 percent of decision-making positions are held by women.
They must also submit a detailed political program, provide tax clearance certificates for all members of their national executive bodies, and present proof of a functioning headquarters at the national level and in all 33 prefectures of the country.
Finally, they must complete application files, which must be submitted in four copies to the Directorate General of Political Affairs.
The measures effectively require parties to demonstrate nationwide operational structures, financial regularity, and internal governance reforms within a compressed timeframe.
Elections Fixed for May 24
The compliance deadline falls just one day after the date set for the country’s legislative and communal elections.
In a decree made public on Friday, President Mamadi Doumbouya fixed Sunday, May 24, 2026, as the date for the polls across the national territory.
The decree, which takes effect from February 24, 2026, mandates several ministries and institutions to oversee its implementation.
Each institution is tasked, within its remit, with ensuring the proper execution of the electoral process. The decree is to be registered and published in the Official Journal.
High-Stakes Political Reconfiguration
The convergence of the compliance deadline and the election date places considerable pressure on political parties, particularly smaller or less structured formations, to regularize their status before the polls.
The elections come in the wake of President Doumbouya’s victory in the December 28, 2025, presidential election, which marked the formal end of the transition period and ushered Guinea into a new institutional order.
With the May vote expected to shape the composition of the National Assembly and local councils under this new political dispensation, the enforcement of the organic law is likely to significantly reconfigure the country’s partisan landscape, potentially narrowing the field to parties capable of meeting the tightened administrative, financial, and representational criteria within the allotted timeframe.
