Guinea junta trying to suppress political parties, says Ex-president

Former Guinean President Alpha Conde, who was overthrown in a 2021 coup, said Saturday that the ruling junta was trying to “subjugate” the opposition after the military suspended his party.
The military government led by General Mamadi Doumbouya said Friday it was suspending 28 political parties for three months, including two of the country’s leading formations: Conde’s Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG) and the Union of Republican Forces (UFR) party of Sidya Toure, who like Conde is living abroad.
The military government claims these parties failed to meet their obligations to provide bank accounts or hold a congress over the past three months.
The military also dissolved 27 parties and placed four other political groups under observation.
It authorised 75 parties to continue political activities, including that of exiled opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, on the condition that they hold a congress within the next 45 days.
These decisions come amid a tense climate marked by the disappearance of several opposition leaders and severe restrictions on freedoms.
“The junta wants to silence you. It is trying to impose on you a choice that is not yours: that of submission and renunciation,” Conde wrote in a social media post.
On Friday, a grouping of opposition parties said in a statement the junta wants to “weaken or even eliminate from the political scene the most representative parties in the country.”
Guinea’s military leaders initially pledged under international pressure to hand over power to elected civilians before the end of 2024, a promise it has not kept, though Doumbouya promised in his new year’s address that 2025 will be “a crucial electoral year to return to the constitutional order.”(AFP)