GUINEANS have reacted with shock after it was announced that presidential candidates would need to pay a deposit of 875m Guinean francs ($100,000; £75,000) to contest December’s election, which should see the military leaders hand power to civilians.
Guinea has been under military rule since Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized power in a 2021 coup.
The elections are being held under a new constitution that allowed Doumbouya to run for the presidency – although he has not announced if he plans to.
While the previous deposit was almost as high – 800m francs – some analysts had hoped it would be reduced to encourage more people to stand in these historic elections.
“This amount is huge,” political analyst Kabinet Fofana told the BBC. “This decision adds to the growing criticism against the general direction of elections.”
Candidates who get more than 5% of the vote in the first round of the election will get their deposit repaid.
The authorities say the high amount is needed to ensure only credible candidates take part.
But presidential candidate Faya Millimono says the deposit used to be much lower.
“Until 2005, the deposit never exceeded 50 million [Guinean francs]. The madness began in 2010, when it was thought necessary to block certain candidates. The amount went from 50 million to 400 million, and today we’re talking about 900 million.”
The costs of participating in the elections are some of the highest in the region.
In 2022, the Nigerian electoral commission set a fee of 100m naira ($67,000 at the current rate – at the time it was more than $200,000) sparking widespread criticism.
In Cameroon, the deposit is $53,000 and Ivory Coast $90,000.
The electoral body also set a campaign spending limit of 40bn Guinean francs ($4.6m; £3.5m) per candidate.
One candidate believes these amounts “send a clear signal – only the very wealthy or those who have already benefited from state resources can truly compete”.
Some 50 candidates from political parties and 16 independent candidates have been approved so far.
The largest opposition parties, the Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG Arc-en-Ciel), led by former President Alpha Condé, and the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), headed by former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, are not included on the provisional list but they still have time to register.
Guinea is heading into an election without Condé, who was ousted by Doumbouya, as well as Diallo and former Prime Minister Sidya Touré of the Union of Republican Forces (UFR).
All three leaders are currently living outside the country.