# 2020 Guinean presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Guinea on 18 October 2020. Incumbent president Alpha Condé was running for a third term. He was challenged by former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, as well as several other candidates.

## Background

The Guinean constitution limits a president to two terms. However, changes in the new constitution passed in the controversial constitutional referendum earlier in the year included resetting the presidential terms allowing incumbent president Alpha Condé to run for a third term. Both the referendum and the legislative election being run alongside it was boycotted by most of the opposition, and was marred by protests.
Former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo who ran against Condé and placed second in the previous two presidential elections ran again after first considering boycotting the vote, and was seen as the main challenger. Protests against the incumbent president have continued throughout the year. The protests have been harshly repressed by security forces claiming a number of civilian lives.

## Electoral system

The elections were held using the two-round system, with a second round taking place between the top two finishers on 24 November 2020 if no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round.

## Results

Preliminary estimates were reported to indicate that Diallo was in the lead. On 19 October, Diallo declared himself the winner of the election despite the official results not being known yet, based on polling information gathered by his party. The incumbent president condemned this declaration as "irresponsible and dangerous." The electoral commission expected the official results to be released by the end of the week. With 96.14% of the results counted, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared incumbent president Alpha Condé the winner in the first round with 59.49% of the vote on 24 October.
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Alpha Condé | Rally of the Guinean People | 2,438,815 | 59.50 |
| | Cellou Dalein Diallo | Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea | 1,372,920 | 33.49 |
| | Ibrahima Abé Sylla | New Generation for the Republic | 63,676 | 1.55 |
| | Ousmane Kaba [fr] | Party of Democrats for Hope [fr] | 48,623 | 1.19 |
| | Ousmane Doré [fr] | National Movement for Development | 46,235 | 1.13 |
| | Makalé Camara | Front for National Alliance | 29,958 | 0.73 |
| | Makalé Traoré [fr] | Party of Civic Action for Work | 29,589 | 0.72 |
| | Abdoul Kabèlè Camara | Guinean Rally for Development [fr] | 22,507 | 0.55 |
| | Abdoulaye Kourouma | Rally for Renaissance and Development | 19,073 | 0.47 |
| | Moro Mandjouf Sidibé [fr] | Alliance for the Forces of Change | 10,362 | 0.25 |
| | Laye Souleymane Diallo [fr] | Party of Freedom and Progress | 9,619 | 0.23 |
| | Bouya Konaté [fr] | Union for the Defence of Republican Interests | 7,544 | 0.18 |
| Total | Total | Total | 4,098,921 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 4,098,921 | 96.05 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 168,653 | 3.95 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,267,574 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 5,367,198 | 79.51 |
| Source: CENI Guinea |||||

## Aftermath

Diallo called for mass demonstrations after Condé's victory was certified by the election commission. The post-election period saw national protests in which at least 12 people were killed by security forces, including two children in Conakry.
Monitors from the African Union and ECOWAS said the election took place transparently and was conducted properly.
In September 2021, the military overthrew Condé in a coup d'état and detained him.