Ahead of Guinea referendum, parties suspended and press coverage stymied

A resident casts her ballot in a Conakry polling station during November 11, 2001 referendum vote. [AFP] In Guinea, Sunday marks the start of the campaign period for the west African nation's constitutional referendum, with little opposition to speak of. The country's military junta has suspended or dissolved the main political parties and has recently barred local media from giving the parties a voice. The September 21 referendum is in theory supposed to open the way for a return to civilian rule after the military seized power in 2021. While the draft constitution that is up for a vote does not make clear whether junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya could stand as a candidate in the next presidential election, everything seems to indicate that he will. A "transition charter" drawn up by the junta shortly after the coup had stipulated that none of its leaders, government members or heads of institutions would be able to run. Yet government officials and junta supporters have repeatedly called on Doumbouya to stand in the election. Suspensions and arrests Since 2022, Doumbouya's military-run government has banned all demonstrations, and has arrested, prosecuted or pushed into exile several opposition leaders. Earlier this month the government suspended three main political parties -- including that of former president Alpha Conde -- for three months. Several dozen other parties have already been recently suspended or dissolved. Then on Thursday the president of Guinea's national media regulatory authority, the HAC, declared that news outlets "must not give voice to political parties and organizations in conflict with the law, which are prohibited from operating". Doing so would be "an offense", he warned. The opposition, which accuses Doumbouya of wanting to seize power through the referendum, has called for demonstrations starting September 5. 'Minute of silence' Faya Millimouno, president of the Liberal Bloc Party and one of the few opposition voices still daring to criticize the junta, spoke Friday about the government's latest move against the media. The HAC, he said, must "observe a minute of silence in memory of the freedom of the press it helped to destroy". In a statement published Thursday evening, a coalition of several dozen Guinean civil society groups called to postpone the referendum, citing poor organisation and the governing junta's repression of the opposition. The Forum of Social Forces of Guinea (FFSG), as the coalition is called, noted a lack of a certified electoral register and the "total absorption" of the country's election management body by the Ministry of Territorial Administration.

Ahead of Guinea referendum, parties suspended and press coverage stymied

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Ahead of Guinea referendum, parties suspended and press coverage stymied

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