The Guinean government led by coup-leader-turned-president Mamady Doumbouya has consolidated its hold on power by dissolving 40 political parties.
According to a report from Reuters, the country’s main opposition leader called for “direct resistance” against the rule of President Mamady Doumbouya. The president, a former special forces commander, seized power in 2021 and won a contested election in December for a seven-year presidential term.
Guinea’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization said in a decree late on Friday that the headquarters and local offices of 40 parties would be closed and the use of their logos, acronyms, “and other distinctive signs” would be prohibited.
The decree said the parties had failed to meet legal obligations such as filing financial statements. Several of the dissolved political parties have protested, maintaining that they had fulfilled all legal requirements.
In a video statement published on social media on Sunday, Guinea’s main opposition leader, Cellou Dalein Diallo, said “war has been openly declared” on Doumbouya’s challengers. He called for “direct resistance,” saying that political change could not happen through dialogue.
Reuters quoted him as saying that “the head of the junta and his malevolent clique want to rewrite the country’s history by erasing from the political landscape all forces likely to overshadow his nascent one-party state.” A government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Diallo is in exile outside the country, as is former President Alpha Condé, whom Doumbouya toppled and whose party was also dissolved on Friday.
Guinea has a history of political violence, including during the 2020 election, which Diallo said he had won. The December 2025 election was tightly controlled and unfolded without major security incidents.
