For more than four years now, General Mamady Doumbouya has been serving as Guinea's "transitional president," having led a coup d'etat against then-President Alpha Conde on September 5, 2021. Doumbouya had originally promised to return power to civilians, but it appears that he has changed his mind, as he is now running for the election scheduled for December 28. The country's new constitution, which was adopted in September, will allow the future president to serve a seven-year term. Voters will get to choose between nine candidates, but Doumbouya's eight rivals are largely unknown to the general public in Guinea, as the most important opposition politicians in the country have been excluded from the election. Guinea's new constitution also stipulates that presidential candidates must have their main residence in the country. Using this new prerequisite, two opposition heavyweights living in exile were stopped from running for office in one fell swoop: Former Prime Minister Sidya Toure, chairman of the Union of Republican Forces Republicaines (UFR) party, and former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, chairman of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) party. Guinean authorities had suspended the entire UFDG at the end of August — alongside several other parties. The suspension was initially intended to last for 90 days, but in the case of the UFDG, that has now been extended: In a statement issued two weeks before the election, the Guinean Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization said that the documents submitted by the party showed "significant shortcomings" for its participation. It added that the UFDG now has six months to "bring its political organization fully into line with the new legal provisions." Otherwise, the party will lose its legal status. Among various criticisms, the ministry underscored the fact that the UFDG has not held a party conference since Guinea's junta dissolves government without explanation in 2015; however, authorities at the same time prohibited the UFDG from doing just that at the beginning of this year — again with little rhyme or reason. Since 2022, the military government led by Doumbouya has banned all demonstrations in the country and has arrested, prosecuted, or driven into exile several opposition leaders. At the same time, reports of abductions and kidnappings of political opponents have increased significantly. Amnesty International says that this has created a "climate of terror," and has joined 24 other Guinean and international human rights organizations to call on "authorities to comply with their international human rights obligations, to which they committed themselves in April 2025 before the UN Human Rights Council According to the election commission, 66 people originally submitted their presidential candidacies to the Supreme Court. However, the vast majority of candidates were squarely rejected. Makale Camara, former foreign minister and the only woman among the remaining nine candidates, hopes to boost her chances by focusing on connecting with citizens: "My strategy is to mingle with the people, especially women. Wherever I can find young people," says the chairwoman of the Front for National Alliance (FAN) party. Ibrahima Toure, of the Union for Progress and Renewal (PRUN) party, is one of the candidates who was not approved to run — as a person who splits his time between Guinea and Germany. His platform would have been the country's education system — or rather a lack thereof: "The education system is a disaster. The classrooms are dilapidated and completely broken. Those who have no money cannot send their children to school."