Conakry –
Cout d’etat happened in Guinea, which is one of the poorest countries in the West African region. This coup occurred after there was an amendment to the constitution in 2020 that allowed the president to serve three terms.
Reported from AFP, Monday (6/9/2021), the coup was carried out by the Guinean special forces on Sunday (5/9) and immediately imposed a curfew. They also dissolved the constitution.
“We have decided, after taking the president, to dissolve the constitution,” a uniformed officer flanked by soldiers carrying assault rifles said in a video.
The officer said land and air border Guinea has been closed and the government dissolved. There is also a video showing Guinea’s President, Alpha Conde, sitting on a couch and surrounded by troops.
Conde is a former opposition leader who was jailed and sentenced to death. He went on to become Guinea’s first democratically elected leader in 2010 and won re-election in 2015.
He survived an assassination attempt in 2011. But recently, Conde has been accused of drifting into authoritarianism.
It started with Guinea’s most recent presidential election, held in October 2020. The election was seen as marred by violence and allegations of fraud.
Conde, who is running again in the 2020 election, won a controversial third term. His third term comes after pushing for constitutional changes in March 2020 that would allow him to circumvent the country’s two-term limit for president.
Dozens of people were killed in demonstrations against Conde’s third term. Hundreds of others were arrested.
Conde was then proclaimed president on November 7 last year. His main challenger, Cellou Dalein Diallo and other opposition figures denounced the election as a sham. The government later arrested several prominent opposition members for their alleged role in abetting the country’s electoral violence.
– .
