Guinea Junta Leader to Lead Transition After Toppling President

Sep 28, 2021

Share

(Bloomberg) --

The leader of Guinea’s military junta, which toppled President Alpha Conde earlier this month, will serve as president in a transitional government that will run the West African nation until elections are held. 

Colonel Mamady Doumbouya will lead a government composed of a civilian cabinet, according to a transition charter emailed to reporters. None of the members of the transitional government will be allowed to run for office in the next elections.

 

The duration of the transition will be determined by the junta and an 81-member transitional council made up of politicians, civil society groups and labor unions. One third of the council should be made up of women, according to the charter.

The Economic Community of West African States earlier this month ordered the junta to hold elections within six months, opting for a tight deadline following a string of coups in the region. The regional bloc also imposed a travel ban on junta members and their families, and a freeze on their financial assets. 

An Ecowas delegation led by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and Ivory Coast’s leader Alassane Ouattara repeated a call to release Conde, 83, after meeting the junta in the Guinean capital, Conakry. The deposed leader has been held in detention since the Sept. 5 coup.

Guinea is the world’s largest exporter of bauxite, which is used to make alumina, and eventually aluminum. The power grab roiled the metals market, helping to push aluminum to a 13-year high.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.