Guinea’s ruling military junta has suspended three major opposition political parties, including that of ousted former president Alpha Condé, just weeks before a controversial referendum on a new constitution.
According to an order seen by AFP on Saturday, the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) of Alpha Condé, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) led by former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, and the Party of Renewal and Progress (PRP) have all been banned from political activities for a period of three months.
“These parties have not fulfilled the obligations required of them,” The Saturday Standard quoted the order seen by AFP as stating.
The suspension comes as opposition parties and civil society groups were preparing to stage demonstrations from September 5 to denounce what they describe as a power grab by junta leader General Mamadi Doumbouya, who seized power in a September 2021 coup that ended Condé’s decade-long presidency.
A national referendum on revising the constitution is set for September 21, with the junta announcing on state television Friday that the official campaign period has been delayed by one week to begin on August 31.
The opposition has rejected the process outright, arguing that it is designed to entrench military rule rather than return the country to democratic governance.
A draft constitution, submitted to Doumbouya in June, is said to outline a transition to civilian rule but leaves unanswered whether the junta leader could contest future presidential elections.
The uncertainty has fuelled suspicions among opposition leaders that the charter is intended to pave the way for Doumbouya to extend his stay in power.
The junta’s earlier transition charter, drawn up shortly after the 2021 coup, explicitly barred members of the military government and heads of state institutions from contesting elections. Adoption of a new constitution could potentially remove that safeguard.
Since seizing power, Doumbouya’s government has banned all street demonstrations, with several opposition leaders either jailed, prosecuted, or forced into exile.
Critics argue that these measures have created a political climate of fear and repression.
The upcoming referendum has further polarised Guinea, a nation with a long history of authoritarian rule and political unrest.
For many, the suspension of the three largest opposition parties is a clear sign that the junta intends to weaken any organised resistance ahead of the vote.
Civil society activists warn that the escalating tensions could spark renewed violence in a country where political disputes have frequently turned deadly in the past.
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