Guinea’s military leader has named former civil servant Mohamed Beavogui as prime minister (PM) to oversee transition to civilian rule following last month’s coup.
Mr Beavogui, 68, is an expert in agricultural finance. He is related to Diallo Tellia – a former Guinean diplomat who served as the first secretary-general of the Organisation of African Unity, news agencies report.
His appointment was announced on Wednesday in a decree read on public television.
The leader of the coup Col Mamady Doumbouya was last Friday sworn in as the interim president.
He is barred from contesting future elections under plans to restore civilian rule. He promised to organise free, credible and transparent elections but did not say when.
A young charismatic soldier, Col Mamady Doumbouya has become Guinea’s interim president just under a month after leading a coup against President Alpha Condé.
The deposed leader once put his faith in Col Doumbouya to help him keep his grip on power in the turbulent West African state.
Announcing the coup on September5, the 41-year-old former French legionnaire said the army had little choice but to seize power because of the rampant corruption, disregard for human rights and economic mismanagement under the 83-year-old President Condé.
Col Doumbouya’s takeover means that he is currently the second-youngest leader of an African state. Only Mali’s Col Assimi Goïta, who has been in power since staging a coup in May, is younger, having been born in 1983.
“The president is with us, he’s in a safe place,” Col Doumbouya told French media after staging the dramatic coup, as a video of Mr Condé – barefooted, with shirt buttons open, vest showing and slouched on a sofa – circulated on social media.
In contrast, Col Doumbouya – dressed in a red beret, sunglasses and army fatigues – appeared on state TV to announce that “the Guinean personalisation of political life is over. We will no longer entrust politics to one man, we will entrust it to the people”.
President Condé remains in detention while the United Nations (UN), African Union and regional body ECOWAS all condemned the military junta that replaced him.
ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) have both suspended Guinea’s membership.
The junta has announced plans to move the country towards civilian rule but did not specify how long the transition would be. -BBC
