A $100,000 fee shocks Guinea to run to replace the junta

Guineans have reacted with shock after it was announced that presidential candidates will have to pay an 875m Guinean franc ($100,000; £75,000) deposit to run in December’s election, in which military leaders must hand power to citizens.

Guinea has been under military rule since Colonel Mamadi Dumbouya seized power in a 2021 coup.

The elections are being held under a new constitution that allows Dumbouya to run for president – although he has not announced if he plans to.

The earlier deposit was almost as high – 800m francs – as some analysts hoped it would be lowered to encourage more people to stand in these historic elections.

Political analyst Kabinet Fofana told the BBC that the amount is huge. “The decision adds to growing criticism of the general direction of the election.”

Candidates who get more than 5% of the votes in the first round of the election will be refunded their deposit.

Officials say the higher amount is needed to ensure that only credible candidates participate.

But presidential candidate Faya Milimono says the deposit would have been much lower.

“Until 2005, the deposit never exceeded 50 million (Guinea francs). The madness started in 2010, when some candidates had to be blocked. The amount went from 50 million to 400 million and today we are talking about 900 million.”

Cost to participate In the election Some of the highest in the region.

In 2022, the Nigerian Electoral Commission set a fee of 100m Naira ($67,000 at current rates – more than $200,000 at the time) which drew widespread criticism.

In Cameroon, the deposit is $53,000 and Ivory Coast $90,000.

The Electoral Commission also set a campaign spending limit of 40bn Guinea francs ($4.6m; £3.5m) per candidate.

One candidate believes these amounts “send a clear signal – only the very rich or those who already benefit from state resources can really compete”.

Around 50 candidates of 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 Conde, and the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), led by former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, are not included in the provisional list but still have time to register.

Guinea is going to the polls without Conde, who was ousted by Doumbuya, as well as Diallo and former prime minister Sidya Toure of the Union of Republican Forces (UFR).

All these three leaders are currently living outside the country.