Lt.-Col. Mamady Doumbouya, the head of the junta that deposed Guinean strongman Alpha Condé, has requested discussions to form a transitional administration, according to media reports from the capital, Conakry.
Guinea is convening a four-day meeting this week to prepare for a return to civilian democratic governance following Doumbouya’s military coup on Sept. 5.
Following the coup, the impoverished West African country was expelled from the African Union (AU) and the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
FRANCE 24’s James André reported from outside the national parliament in Conakry that the negotiations would take place in the compound where Doumbouya is being kept.
“Mamady Doumbouya will meet with all of the country’s major stakeholders, beginning with the country’s political leaders,” André stated.
Cellou Dalein Diallo, the head of the biggest opposition group, told FRANCE 24 that he was willing to help.
The president of the Union des Forces Démocratiques de Guinée (UFDG) party stated his teams were “working to determine what adjustments and procedures are required to secure a fair and transparent election.”
Diallo explained, “For example, we need a voter list, an electoral legislation, and we need to know how long each step will take.”
Several Guineans, notably civil society activists, are inclined to back the junta’s bid to return the country to civilian control, despite their dissatisfaction with Alpha Conde’s policies, particularly his constitutional revisions that allowed him to extend his tenure.
“The military takeover has instilled hope in the population, perhaps too much hope,” Dansa Kourouma, head of the National Council of Civil Society Organizations, stated (CNOSCG).
“We want to emphasize to them that they cannot afford to make any mistakes.
“We expect that within a realistic time frame, Guinean democratic underpinnings may be reconstructed in a consensual and successful manner.”
