Guinea has dissolved 40 political parties, including its three main opposition groups, via a late-night decree, fewer than two months after former junta leader Mamady Doumbouya was sworn in as president.

Doumbouya, who has ruled Guinea with an iron fist, was elected in late December in a vote in which all major opposition leaders were barred.

Guinea's minister of territorial administration and decentralisation ordered the dissolution of the parties late on Friday for "failure to fulfil their obligations".

The decree also stripped them of control of their assets.

Political opponents have been arrested, put on trial or driven into exile, while enforced disappearances and kidnappings have multiplied.

Included among the dissolved groups are Guinea's three main political parties: the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) led by its exiled leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, the Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG) led by ex-president Alpha Condé, and the Union of Republican Forces (UFR).

"This dissolution entails the immediate loss of the legal personality and status of the parties concerned", the order said.

That includes "all political activities" as well as the use of "acronyms, logos, emblems and other distinctive symbols" associated with the groups, it said.

The parties' assets have been placed under "sequestration" with a curator appointed to oversee their transfer, the decree said, without specifying to whom or to what entity.

Civil society movements condemned the parties' dissolution Saturday, calling it an autocratic power grab.

Since coming to power in a 2021 coup Doumbouya has cracked down on civil liberties and banned protests.

Ibrahima Diallo, a leader in the pro-democracy National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC) said the move "formalized a dictatorship now established as the mode of governance. The country is sinking into profound uncertainty."

Two well-known FNDC activists, Oumar Sylla, better known as Fonike Mengue, and Mamadou Billo Bah, have been missing since July 2024.

New constitution, same leader

Doumbouya, 41, came to power in 2021 when he toppled Conde, Guinea's first freely elected president.

Guinea's new constitution, approved in a referendum last September, allowed junta members including Doumbouya to stand for election and lengthened presidential terms from five to seven years, renewable once.

Not only have opposition voice disappeared on Doumbouya's watch but so have their family members.

Earlier this week three relatives of Tibou Kamara, a former minister and spokesman under Conde were kidnapped.

Four family members of exiled musician and opposition figure Elie Kamano were abducted in November and the father of exiled journalist Mamoudou Babila Keita was kidnapped in September.

Guinea has had a complex history of military and authoritarian rule since its 1958 independence.

The country is rich in minerals, but more than half of its inhabitants live below the poverty line, according to World Bank figures for 2024.