Guinea reaches final day of referendum campaign, with opposition missing

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Guinea’s capital buzzed with activity as campaigning closed Thursday ahead of a referendum that could let the coup leader seek the presidency.

Quran readings, reggae concerts and prayers were held in support of Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya, the military leader who took power four years ago. Public and private buildings in Conakry were plastered with campaign billboards. Roads were blocked by trucks filled with supporters wearing T-shirts and boubous, traditional West African flowing garments, printed with Doumbouya’s face.

Only one thing was missing: the opposition. All the campaign billboards and events urge people to vote in one way: Yes.

The citizens of this coastal West African country will cast either Yes or No ballots on Sunday on a draft constitution, the key step in a transition from military toward civilian rule. No campaigning is allowed on Friday and Saturday. A presidential election is expected to follow in December.

There are 6.7 million eligible voters, and the referendum needs a voter turnout of at least 50% to pass.

Guinea is one of a growing number of West African countries, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where the military has taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule. Doumbouya ousted President Alpha Conde in 2021, saying he acted to prevent the country from slipping into chaos and chastising the previous government for broken promises.

Despite rich natural resources, over half of Guinea's population of 15 million people is experiencing “unprecedented levels of poverty and food insecurity,” according to the World Food Program.

Doumbouya initially said he would not run for the presidency. But the draft constitution allows junta members to run for office, and extends the presidential mandate from 5 to 7 years, renewable twice. It also creates a Senate, where one-third of the members would be appointed by the president.

Although Doumbouya has not spoken publicly about whether he would run in December's election, he remains the main figure of the referendum campaign.

At a recent event in a central neighborhood of Conakry, residents dressed in their best clothes and Doumbouya T-shirts were swaying to songs praising the military leader as “the new sun which shines over Guinea.”

Kadiatou Diaby, a merchant selling spicy Guinean pepper in Conakry’s market, said she was motivated by Doumbouya himself to vote in favor of the new constitution. During the rally, she made an impassioned speech convincing the others to do the same.

“I won’t say I didn’t vote before, but my heart wasn’t really in it. I really trust him. I’m going to vote, and my children are also going to vote,” she said.

Mohamed Lamine Camara, the head of the neighborhood council who hosted the rally and provided refreshments, said that no one has asked to organize any events against the new constitution. He said he was in favor of the draft and was telling residents to vote for it, but had not read the part which allows Doumbouya to stand in the presidential election.

Fanta Conte, a member of Guinea’s National Transition Council, said that the referendum was not about Doumbouya, but about the new constitution, which would give more power to the legislative through the creation of the Senate.

“Right now, it’s not the presidential election campaign, it’s the referendum campaign,” she said. “So right now we’re not talking politics.”

But critics denounced the referendum as a power grab.

Since coming to power, the military junta has been tightening its grip on the independent media and the opposition, according to rights organizations. Human Rights Watch accused the military regime of disappearing its opponents and silencing critical media voices.

Social networks and private radio stations have been cut off, information sites have been interrupted or suspended for several months without explanation, and journalists have faced attacks and arrests, according to Reporters Without Borders. Some critical print newspapers are still being published, but literacy levels in Guinea are low.

The referendum is organized by a new body, the Directorate General of Elections, which will oversee the vote count and whose two heads were elected by Doumbouya.

The military regime dissolved more than 50 political parties last year in a move it claimed was to “clean up the political chessboard.” Weeks before the referendum, it suspended the three main opposition parties, making it impossible for them to organize rallies. More than half of the population cannot read or write, which means they only get information about the new constitution from the military government.

Opposition politicians have called for a boycott of the referendum. Cellou Dalein Diallo, an exiled opposition leader, called the referendum “a masquerade” which is “destined to legitimize a coup d'etat.”

A large campaign banner showing Guinea's interim president, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, is displayed on a public building in Conakry, Guinea, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Supporters cheer and wave Guinean flags during a community rally ahead of the constitutional referendum in Conakry, Guinea, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

A supporter stands next to speakers during a community rally ahead of the constitutional referendum in Conakry, Guinea, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

People walk past a mural showing Guinea's interim president, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, ahead of the constitutional referendum in Conakry, Guinea, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Framed portraits of Guinea's interim president, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, are displayed side by side in Conakry, Guinea, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party.

Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.

“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”

Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.

In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.

Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.

“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”

The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right. Reform has topped opinion polls for months, trounced the Conservatives in last May’s local elections and has welcomed a stream of defecting Tory members and officials.

Jenrick, who has continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.

Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.

The Conservatives remain the official opposition to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour.

Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.

Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.

However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.

The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the party was created nearly 200 years ago.

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)