Guinea's Supreme Court yesterday published a provisional list of nine candidates for the presidential election on December 28, including the leader of the military junta, Mamady Doumbuya, AFP reported.
Doumbuya, 40, has ruled the West African country with a firm hand since taking power in a coup in 2021. He filed his candidacy on Monday - a step his aides had been pushing him to take for months despite his initial promise to return power to civilians.
Out of a total of 51 documents filed, the Supreme Court approved eight more candidates, most of whom are little known to the general public.
In the absence of leading figures such as former exiled prime minister Selou Dalein Diallo, the opposition could eventually unite around the candidacy of Faya Lansana Milimono, known for his criticism to the junta.
The rejected candidates have 72 hours to appeal the decision, and the Supreme Court will have 48 hours to rule after receiving the appeals.
Four years after the military came to power, Guineans are due to vote on December 28 for a new head of state in one of the poorest countries in the world, whose history is marked by coups and authoritarian regimes.
The presidential vote, long-awaited by both the population and the international community, is expected to end the transitional period that began after Doumbuya ousted President Alpha Conde, who had ruled for more than a decade.
Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has ruled the country alone since 1999, announced that he would run for a sixth term in the next presidential elections, scheduled for April 2026, France reported. press.
The head of state's party, the Popular Front for Progress, held a congress today in the capital of the small country in a troubled region in the Horn of Africa, which also includes Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. After the party nominated Ismail Omar Guelleh as its candidate for the upcoming vote, "the president accepted this nomination with gratitude, reaffirming his commitment to unity, stability and development in a difficult international environment", the presidency said in a statement.
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko called on the population yesterday to make “sacrifices“ so that the country can get back on its feet within “two to three years”, amid a difficult economic situation, Agence France-Presse reported.
Senegal is in a worrying economic situation with a budget deficit of nearly 14 percent of GDP and debt estimated at 132 percent of GDP by the end of 2024.
The government, in power since 2024, accuses the previous regime of concealing the real data on key indicators such as public debt and budget deficit.
In recent weeks, the government has imposed taxes on products such as tobacco, alcohol and gambling, as well as on digital money transfers, which are widely used in the country.
“I ask Senegalese people to make a sacrifice for two or three years and I know you will make it“, said Sonko, justifying the new taxes with the economic situation in the country.
The leader of the ruling party “African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity“ (PASTEF) made his statement during a large and long-awaited rally that gathered several thousand people in a large parking lot near a stadium in Dakar.
He assured that and The state itself is already making efforts, by suspending some seminars, workshops and trips, as well as the purchase of certain cars, in order to reduce state spending.
The Senegalese government has been the subject of much criticism from the opposition and some observers.
Earlier yesterday, a group of opposition members attempted to hold a banned anti-government protest elsewhere in the capital. Several people were arrested by security forces and others were dispersed with tear gas, AFP journalists reported.