Guinea’s military-led government has dissolved 40 political parties, including the country’s three major opposition groups, in a far-reaching political crackdown that critics say is turning the country into a one-party state.
The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation announced the decision in a decree issued late Friday, ordering the immediate closure of the parties’ headquarters and local offices nationwide.
The decree also banned the use of the parties’ logos, names, acronyms, and emblems, while appointing a curator to take control of their assets, according to Al Jazeera.
According to Premium Times, this comes just three months after Mamadi Doumbouya won the presidential election in December last year, securing himself a six-year term in office.
Doumbouya first seized power four years ago after overthrowing former President Alpha Condé in a military coup, installing a junta known as the National Committee for Reconciliation and Development (CNRD).
Since the coup, the junta has steadily tightened its grip on the political landscape, clamping down on opposition voices and dissent.
Among the parties now dissolved are the country’s three most prominent opposition groups — the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG), and the Union of Republican Forces (UFR).
The RPG was the political party of ousted President Alpha Condé.
The parties had already been suspended last August ahead of the presidential election but have now been completely shut down.
Authorities claimed the parties failed to meet their legal obligations, leading to their dissolution and the stripping of their legal status.
They are also now banned from engaging in any political activity.
But opposition figures say the move is a blatant attempt to silence dissent and entrench authoritarian rule.
In a video posted on Facebook on Sunday, UFDG leader Dalein Diallo urged citizens to resist the government.
“I urge the leaders, activists and supporters of the UFDG, and all Guineans who cherish liberty and justice, to rise as one and use every means to bring an end to this exceptional regime that has lasted far too long.”
Similarly, Ibrahima Diallo, leader of the pro-democracy National Front, one of the dissolved parties, warned that the decree was designed to formalise dictatorship in Guinea.
