Guinea’s opposition has rejected a draft constitution put forward by the ruling junta, arguing that it would enable military leaders to run in elections and obstruct a return to civilian governance.
The junta, led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya who took power in a September 2021 coup and is now president and general, has been under pressure from the regional bloc ECOWAS to hold elections by the end of 2024 after a transition period.
The draft constitution, unveiled on Monday, proposes the establishment of a bicameral parliament with candidates for elections required to be between 35 and 80 years of age.
The Living Forces of Guinea (FVG), an alliance of political parties, trade unions, and civil society groups, has expressed firm opposition to the draft, arguing that it opens the door for transition leaders to stand in both national and local elections. The alliance condemned the document as a total contradiction to the Transition Charter and the junta’s repeated commitments.
The junta plans to put the constitution to a referendum by the end of the year.
In addition to rejecting the draft constitution, the FVG renewed demands for the immediate and unconditional release of anti-junta activists Oumar Sylla, known as Fonike Mengue, and Mamadou Billo Bah. The two men were reportedly arrested on July 9 and have since disappeared, according to the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), a pro-democracy movement.
The FNDC and rights groups, including Amnesty International, have labelled their detention as a “kidnapping,” claiming that the activists are being held incommunicado in violation of international law. Guinean authorities have denied detaining the pair.
Protests erupted on Tuesday calling for the release of Sylla and Bah, resulting in injuries to at least seven demonstrators and two police officers. Demonstrators set up barricades, overturned rubbish bins, and clashed with police in several Conakry neighbourhoods. The police responded with tear gas.
Civil society organisations have called for further demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday, despite a government ban on protests.
Sylla and Bah’s disappearance adds to a series of arrests since Doumbouya, a 44-year-old former member of France’s Foreign Legion, assumed power in the 2021 coup. His military-led administration has been cracking down on efforts to mobilise support for a return to civilian rule, with numerous opposition leaders detained, prosecuted, or forced into exile.