Guinea coup leader sworn in as transitional president

Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who led last month’s coup in Guinea, was sworn in as interim president on Friday, pledging to honor the West African state’s international commitments during the transition to rule civil.

Doumbouya, who led the overthrow of President Alpha Condé on September 5, was sworn in before the President of the Supreme Court, Mamadou Sylla, for an indefinite transitional period.

The new interim president has expressed his “commitment” that neither he nor any member of the junta will stand in the future elections that the military has promised to organize after the transition period.

The mission of his administration is to “rebuild the state”, he said, by drafting a new constitution, fighting corruption, reforming the electoral system and then organizing “free, credible and transparent” elections. .

He once again said nothing when he was sworn in on how long he will remain the interim leader.

The new president also promised to “respect all the national and international commitments to which the country has subscribed”.

Turbulence

Dressed in a beige uniform, a red beret and dark glasses, the new national leader also pledged to “loyally preserve national sovereignty” and “to consolidate democratic gains, guarantee the independence of the motherland and the integrity of the national territory “.

The ceremony took place at the Mohammed-V Palace in Conakry on the eve of a public holiday celebrating France’s declaration of independence in 1958.

Doumbouya will serve as transitional president until the country returns to civilian rule, according to a plan unveiled by the junta on Monday that does not mention a timetable.

The September 5 coup, the latest episode of turmoil in one of Africa’s most unstable countries, saw the overthrow of President Condé, 83.

Guinea. By Gillian HANDYSIDE (AFP)

Condé became the first democratically elected president of Guinea in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.

But last year, he passed a controversial new constitution that saw him run for a third term in October 2020.

The move sparked mass protests in which dozens of protesters were killed. Condé was re-elected but the political opposition maintained that the ballot was a sham.

The “charter” unveiled on Monday promises that a new constitution will be drafted and “free, democratic and transparent” elections organized, but does not specify how long the transition will last.

Screen capture showing Alpha Condé after his capture by army coup plotters during a coup in Conakry on September 5. By – (MILITARY SOURCE / AFP)

The document states that the transitional president will be “head of state and supreme head of the armed forces … (and) determine the nation’s policy,” with the power to appoint and dismiss an interim prime minister.

However, the president will not be able to be a candidate in the elections that will take place after the transition, he said.

The turbulence in the former French colony has caused great concern among Guinea’s neighbors.

The coup is the second to take place in the region, after Mali, in less than 13 months.

The region’s bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is demanding elections be held within six months, as well as Condé’s release.