- Guinea’s transitional assembly known by its French acronym CNT held its first session on 5th February in the capital, Conakry.
- The session is meeting five months after the military takeover of the country from President Alpha Conde.
Guinea’s transitional assembly known by its French acronym CNT held its first session on 5th February in the capital, Conakry. The session is meeting five months after the military takeover of the country from President Alpha Conde.
Conde, was Guinea’s first democratically elected president who remained in power since 2010, until he was deposed on September 5, 2021 by a military coup. Prior to Conde’s electoral victory in 2010,Guinea experienced decades of authoritarian rule by the country’s two first presidents, Sekou Toure and Lansana Conte, who were in office for 26 and 24 years respectively. Conde was re-elected for a second term in 2015. He pushed for a constitutional referendum, to seek a controversial third term in October 2020 polls, which he won.
The main task of CNT is to draft a new constitution and suggest a date for a return to civilian rule. CNT members were chosen by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who led the coup and was sworn in as interim president. The members were drawn from lists submitted by political parties and associations. Doumbouya promised to “refound the state”, fight corruption and reform the electoral system in order to hold “free, credible and transparent” elections.
CNT President Dansa Kourouma in his opening remarks underlined the importance of drawing up a constitution that cannot be tampered or modified. Alluding to the former President’s efforts to change the constitution to contest a third term in office, he reminded that the issue of leaders endlessly remaining in power has to be resolved.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has demanded that Guinea hold elections within six months of the coup, which would fall in mid-March.
