The military junta in Guinea has named Mamadou Oury Bah, a former opposition leader, prime minister, one week after it unceremoniously dissolved the government.
His appointment coincides with a rising wave of junta discontent.
On Monday, during a statewide workers’ strike, police and protestors battled, resulting in the deaths of two persons.
The high cost of life in Guinea has caused trade unions to seek lower food prices.
The unions have been urged by Mr. Bah, also referred to as Bah Oury in Guinea, to end the strike and “highlight what we can do together to solve the big challenges gradually, step by step.”
The trained economist is expected to not only set up a new government to replace the one that was dismissed, but also take steps to alleviate the economic hardships facing millions of Guineans.
The swearing-in of the new prime minister was witnessed by interim President Mamady Doumbouya, who led Guinea’s armed forces to overthrow elected President Alpha Condé in September 2021.
Mr Bah, 65, has been a popular fixture in Guinean politics since the early 1990s. He served as minister of reconciliation in a consensus government formed in 2007.
He spent four years in exile in France after he was implicated in a 2011 attack on President Condé’s home, but returned home in 2016 after the president pardoned him.
Guinea is expected to hold elections to restore democratic rule in 10 months, when the 24-month transition period set by the junta and regional bloc ECOWAS expires.
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