Guinea has dissolved 40 political parties, including the country’s three main opposition groups, under a late-night government decree issued less than two months after President Mamady Doumbouya was sworn into office.
The decision was announced by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, which said the parties were disbanded for “failure to fulfil their obligations”. The decree immediately revoked the affected parties’ legal status and control over their assets.
“This dissolution entails the immediate loss of the legal personality and status of the parties concerned,” the order stated. It also bars the parties from carrying out political activities or using their names, logos, emblems or other identifying symbols.
Among those dissolved are the country’s three major opposition groups: the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea led by Cellou Dalein Diallo, the Rally of the People of Guinea linked to former president Alpha Condé, and the Union of Republican Forces.
The decree further stated that the parties’ assets have been placed under sequestration, with a curator appointed to supervise their transfer, although it did not specify who would ultimately assume control of the properties.
Doumbouya, 41, first seized power in 2021 after overthrowing Alpha Condé, Guinea’s first democratically elected president.
He later consolidated his position and was elected in December in a controversial vote from which leading opposition figures were barred. Since taking power, Doumbouya’s government has faced criticism for restricting civil liberties, banning protests and cracking down on political opponents.
Several opposition figures have reportedly been arrested, tried or forced into exile, while rights groups have raised concerns about alleged enforced disappearances and kidnappings. Guinea has experienced repeated periods of military and authoritarian rule since gaining independence from France in 1958.
