A ‘party state’: Guinea dissolves major opposition parties | Military news

The ruling strips the parties of their legal status and assets, as opposition leaders call on Guineans to resist

Guinea’s government has dissolved 40 political parties, including the country’s three main opposition groups, in a move critics say is the final step towards a one-party state under President Mamadi Doumbouya.

The Ministry of Regional Administration and Decentralization issued a ruling late on Friday, saying the parties had failed to fulfill their legal obligations.

Apart from stripping them of their legal status, the order froze their assets and banned the use of their names, logos and emblems, appointing a government-appointed curator to oversee the transfer of their holdings.

The three main parties that dissolved were the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) – led by ousted former president Alpha Conde – and the Union of Republican Forces (UFR).

The trio had already been suspended last August, weeks before a constitutional referendum that cleared the way for Doumbouya to stand in December’s presidential election.

UFDG leader Cello Daylin Diallo, speaking from exile, accused Dombouya of dismantling democratic life to consolidate his grip on power. In a video posted to Facebook on Sunday, he said the dissolution was part of a deliberate drive to build a “party-state” and urged supporters to “rise as one” against the “long-standing” government.

He said dialogue and legal avenues had been exhausted, but his party’s communications coordinator went ahead, describing the aim of securing one-party rule as “the ultimate act of true political farce”.

Ibrahima Diallo, leader of the pro-democracy National Front for the Defense of the Constitution, warned that the move had “formalized the dictatorship” and that Guinea was sinking into “deep uncertainty”.

The crackdown is the latest in a continuing campaign against dissent under Doumbouya, who seized power in a 2021 coup before winning a presidential election in December, which barred all major opposition figures from the vote.

Since taking office, his government has shut down the media, banned protests, and imprisoned or exiled opposition figures and civil society activists.

Several relatives of prominent dissidents have also been abducted and two prominent pro-democracy activists have been missing since July 2024.

A wave of revolts

A wave of coups has brought military leaders to power in Africa, from 2020 across a belt stretching from the Atlantic through the Sahel region to the Red Sea, with a failed coup attempt in Benin in late 2025.

This development has led analysts to describe it as a “rebellion belt”.

The armies of Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau ousted civilian leaders in their respective countries at the end of 2025, underscoring growing discontent with elected governments.

Although usually carried out with popular support, military takeovers curtail civil liberties.

According to the 2025 study, although military acquisitions have declined globally, the risk of insurgencies in Africa remains relatively high.