Guinea junta chief Doumbouya files to run for president

Guinea’s junta leader, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, formally filed to run for president on Monday, submitting his candidacy to the Supreme Court in Conakry ahead of elections scheduled for December 28 that are intended to restore constitutional order after a 2021 coup. Doumbouya arrived in an armoured vehicle escorted by special forces and left without speaking to reporters as thousands of supporters gathered outside the court.

The filing follows a September referendum that approved a new constitution and changed electoral rules, including provisions that removed earlier restrictions barring members of the military government from contesting elections. The charter also introduced residency and age requirements for candidates, which officials say would prevent former president Alpha Condé, who lives abroad and is 87, and former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, 73 and currently in exile, from standing. Several other figures, including former prime ministers Lansana Kouyaté and Ousmane Kaba and former foreign minister Hadja Makale Camara, submitted applications on Monday and would be eligible under the new rules.

Opposition groups have sharply criticized Doumbouya’s decision and...