CONAKRY — Guineans voted on Saturday in a constitutional referendum that opposition figures said was engineered to allow junta leader General Mamadi Doumbouya to stand for the presidency. The vote followed years of military rule since Doumbouya's 2021 coup.

The proposed constitution would extend presidential terms and, critics argue, permit the transitional leader to contest future elections despite earlier pledges by the junta that its members would not run. Guinea's National Independent Electoral Commission confirmed polling stations opened across Conakry and provincial regions.

Several opposition parties, including elements of the Forces Vives coalition, called for a boycott, saying the process lacked transparency and that key political figures remained in exile or detention. Rights groups such as Amnesty International have documented restrictions on assembly and the press in the lead-up to the vote.

The Economic Community of West African States has pressed Guinea and other Sahel-region juntas to restore civilian rule. The referendum will test whether Conakry follows the pattern set in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military transitions have extended beyond initial timelines. Western governments and the African Union have signalled concern over prolonged military rule across the region.

Guinea's government has framed the referendum as a return to constitutional order and a foundation for eventual elections. Turnout figures and preliminary indications of voting patterns were expected to emerge in the hours after polls closed.