Guinea’s military, which seized control more than two years ago, has dissolved the government and announced the formation of a new administration.
Military leaders issued a video statement announcing that directors of cabinet, secretary generals, and their deputies would be in charge until a new government was created. The government has been in office since July 2022.
Amara Camara, the presidency’s secretary general, gave the surprising news in front of other military officials and many armed and masked soldiers in a pre-recorded video.
The military took power in a coup in September 2021 after the country’s first democratically elected president, Alpha Conde, was deposed.
Under international pressure, military leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya had promised to hand the reins of government back to elected civilians by the end of 2024.
The country’s special forces led the putsch after a long period of political tension in Guinea, which was first spurred by Conde’s highly controversial attempt for a third presidential term in 2020.
The former president had emerged victorious in an election after pushing through a new constitution in March 2020 that allowed him to ignore the country’s two-term limit for presidency and run for a third term.
Dozens of people had been killed at the time during demonstrations against a third term for Conde after clashes with security forces. Hundreds more were arrested.
The government had also arrested several prominent opposition members for their alleged role in inciting and abetting electoral violence in Guinea.
