Guinea held its presidential election on December 28, 2025, with about 6.7 million registered voters participating to choose the country’s next president for a seven-year term. The ballot features nine candidates approved by the Supreme Court, including incumbent President General Mamadi Doumbouya and Dr. Makalé Camara, the only female candidate.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional intergovernmental organization established in 1975 to promote cooperation and integration among West African countries, sent observer missions to monitor the election process. ECOWAS focuses on harmonizing policies in areas such as trade, agriculture, and transport to foster economic development and stability across its member states. More information about ECOWAS’s mission can be found on its official website.
One ECOWAS delegation was led by Dr. Abdoulie Janneh, head of the observation mission. Other members included Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security; H.E. Louis Blaise Aka Brou, Resident Representative in Guinea; H.E. John Akel Ballout Jr., Liberia’s Ambassador to Nigeria and Permanent Representative to ECOWAS; Hon. Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr., representative of the ECOWAS Parliament; Mr. Serigne Mamadou Ka, Head of the Electoral Assistance Division; and other officials. This group visited polling stations in Kaloum, Dixinn, and Boulbinet municipalities in Conakry to observe voting operations.
A second delegation led by Senator Lawan Gana Guba included Mr. Abdou Kolley from the Office of the President of the ECOWAS Commission; H.E. Olawale Emmanuel Awe, Ambassador of Nigeria to ECOWAS; and Ms. Marie Saine from the ECOWAS Court of Justice. They observed polling stations in various parts of Conakry.
ECOWAS officials reported that all polling stations they visited opened on time and noted high voter turnout among women and young people.
Speaking after these visits, Dr. Janneh said: “This is a crucial step toward a return to constitutional and democratic order in the country,” expressing hope that voting would proceed under good conditions.
During election day, Dr. Janneh also visited situation rooms operated by ECOWAS, WANEP (West African Network for Peacebuilding), and Guinean civil society organizations to gather statistics and information about how voting was proceeding nationwide.
ECOWAS operates as a regional body aiming for political and economic integration across West Africa through policy alignment among member states (source). Its headquarters are located in Abuja, Nigeria (source).