Guinea's junta leader Mamadi Doumbouya sworn in as president

Guinea’s junta leader General Mamadi Doumbouya was sworn in as president on Saturday, after an overwhelming win in December’s presidential election.

Doumbouya took the oath of office at a brand-new 55,000-seat stadium on the outskirts of the capital Conakry. African leaders and representatives of the African Union and ECOWAS commission attended the ceremony.

Doumbouya took power in a 2021 military coup and initially promised not to present himself as a candidate. But he oversaw the introduction of a constitution that revoked a ban on military leaders running for office and extended the presidential term from five years to seven.

Critics say Doumbouya has clamped down on political opponents and dissent, leaving him with no major opposition among the eight other candidates in the race. Official results gave him 86.7 percent of the vote. His victory, which had been predicted by analysts, was confirmed by the Supreme Court in the capital Conakry.

Yero Baldé, the runner-up who won 6.59 percent of the vote, had filed a petition accusing the electoral body of manipulating the results in Doumbouya’s favor. But authorities said he withdrew the petition a day before the Supreme Court verdict.

Although rich in mineral resources, half of Guinea’s 15 million population is mired in poverty and experiences record levels of food insecurity, according to the World Food Program.

The new government is focused on a 75 percent Chinese owned mining project to revitalise Guinea’s ailing economy. Production at the Simandou iron ore site began last year after decades of delay.

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