The new Prime Minister of Guinea, Amadou Oury Bah, acknowledged yesterday that the military who took power by force in 2021 must remain in office at least until 2025, according to the French news agency (AFP)
Madou Oury Bah, appointed to the position by the military two weeks ago, is the first senior official to openly consider the failure to fulfill the commitment, made under pressure before the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to organize elections before the end of 2024.
The lack of progress towards a transfer of power and the internal situation make holding elections this year increasingly doubtful.
“There are many contingencies,” said Amadou Oury Bah in an interview with French radio station RFI broadcast yesterday. “In a context of economic and financial fragility, we need to work towards stabilization and political calm, so that we can examine and apply the calendar steps with relative serenity,” he declared.
“The objective is to finish this process and I think that 2025 is a good time to complete it”, he stated.
The prime minister painted a gloomy picture of the situation in his country, which “faces many challenges linked to calamitous situations”.
Referring to the explosion of the main hydrocarbon deposit that killed 25 people in December and caused serious disruptions to economic activity, the Prime Minister justified the challenges that the Government has ahead, due to the current scenario in which “social demands that do not was satisfied for a long time” is now “increasing once more”, worsened by inflation and its “impact on the lives of Guineans who struggle to survive”.
Guinea, poor despite considerable mineral and natural resources, suffers from a lack of fuel and electricity cuts. This country has been governed by authoritarian regimes.
In February, a general strike took place to obtain a reduction in the price of basic food products, the end of censorship of the media and the release of a press unionist.
It was the first movement of its kind during the dictatorship. The crisis is accompanied by a repression of all forms of protest, a ban on demonstrations, and the censorship of several television and radio stations.
Opposition leaders were also detained, persecuted or forced into exile. The military that overthrew civilian President Alpha Condé, in September 2021, committed to ECOWAS to hand over power to elected civilians by the end of 2024, at the end of a so-called “transition” period.
The prime minister echoed the military’s argument that they needed time to rebuild the State and carry out profound reforms to put an end to chronic instability and overcome “some delays” in implementing the calendar.
Guinea is one of the West African countries where the military has seized power by force since 2020. Also in Mali, the junta reneged on its commitment to abandon power at the beginning of 2024.
In Burkina Faso, the military regime indicated that holding elections in the summer of 2024, as previously promised, was not a “priority”.
In Niger, following the July 2023 coup d’état, the military limited itself to a vague three-year transition declaration, which was never renewed.
