From gaining independence from France in 1958 until 2010, Guinea was ruled by various successive autocracies, many of them military juntas. In 2008, the last of these regimes came to power following the death of long-time president
Lansana Conté; a
military junta led by
Moussa Dadis Camara was established following a
coup that took advantage of the power vacuum left by his death. Domestic and international opposition to Camara grew, and after
a lethal crackdown on opposition protests in 2009, Camara was shot in the head in an assassination attempt and moved to Morocco for medical treatment. Under domestic and international (mainly American and French) pressure, the succeeding acting president,
Sékouba Konaté organized elections for the following year. In the 2010 Guinean presidential election, long-time opposition leader
Alpha Condé became the first freely elected president in the country's history. Condé was re-elected in
2015 and
2020; the last election occurring due to constitutional changes implemented through
a March 2020 referendrum. Opposition leaders denied the legitimacy of the referendum results, fueling
mass unrest in the country that had already been occurring in opposition to the constitutional amendments and continued after his reelection. The demonstrations were brutally repressed, resulting in 85 deaths. Compounded with an economic crisis caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic and the associated
supply chain crisis, Guinea became increasingly unstable. On 5 September 2021, President Condé was captured by
the country's armed forces in a
coup d'état in
Conakry. Special forces commander
Mamady Doumbouya released a broadcast on state television announcing the dissolution of the
constitution and government. On 1 October 2021, Doumbouya was sworn in as the interim president. Doumbouya initially set 31 December 2024, as the deadline to launch a democratic transition. However, he missed the deadline, leading to protests and criticism from activists and the opposition. Under pressure, he promised in his New Year’s message that a decree for the constitutional referendum would be signed. Authorities have further added that all elections would be held this year, without committing to a particular date. Among its provisions were increasing the presidential term from five to seven years, with a limit of two terms, and creating a
Senate, with a third of its members appointed by the president. Junta leader Doumbouya would also be allowed to run for election, which drew protests from the opposition. ==Campaign==