Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya sworn in as Guinean president, cementing civilian rule after 4-year transition

By Oumar Sankare

BAMAKO, Mali (AA) - Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya was officially sworn in on Saturday as president of the Republic of Guinea after winning the Dec. 28 presidential election with 86.72% of the vote, marking the country’s return to constitutional rule following more than four years of military transition.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the General Lansana Conte Stadium in Nongo, on the outskirts of the capital Conakry, in the presence of several African heads of state and high-level delegations from across the world. Doumbouya will serve a seven-year term.

In accordance with Article 59 of Guinea’s Constitution, Doumbouya took an oath before the Supreme Court, presided over by its first president, Fode Bangoura, pledging loyalty to the nation and respect for the rule of law.

“I swear before God and before the people of Guinea, on my honor, to respect and faithfully enforce the Constitution, the laws, regulations and judicial decisions; to exercise loyally and with dignity the functions entrusted to me in the supreme interest of the nation; never to use the powers vested in me for personal ends; to preserve at all times peace, social cohesion and national unity; and to defend the institutions of the Republic, the integrity of the territory and national independence,” Doumbouya said, adding that he would accept the full force of the law should he violate the oath.

Among the leaders attending the ceremony were Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Malian President Assimi Goita, Gambian President Adama Barrow, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Gabonese President Brice Oligui Nguema, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio and Liberian President Joseph Boakai.

Vice presidents from China, Nigeria, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea were also present, along with senior parliamentary and government officials from Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Togo, Guinea-Bissau and the Union of the Comoros. France was represented by its minister delegate for Francophonie, the United States by the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, while several other countries sent foreign ministers or special envoys. The presidents of the ECOWAS Commission and the African Union Commission also attended.

Doumbouya has led Guinea since September 2021, when he seized power in a military coup that ousted longtime president Alpha Conde. Saturday’s inauguration formalizes his transition from military ruler to elected civilian president.

Guinea entered a period of military rule after the Sept. 5, 2021 coup, led by then-Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, who cited corruption, economic mismanagement and constitutional manipulation under President Alpha Conde as justification for the takeover. The junta dissolved state institutions and suspended the constitution, later promising a return to civilian rule.

The transition, initially expected to be short, lasted more than four years amid negotiations with regional bodies, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which imposed sanctions at various stages to press for a democratic timetable.

The Dec. 28, 2025, election was presented by authorities as the final step in restoring constitutional order. Doumbouya’s decisive victory paved the way for Saturday’s inauguration, signaling the official end of the military transition and the start of a new political chapter for the mineral-rich West African nation.