Guinea’s military junta has warned that returning to civilian administration will take more than three years, a suggestion that is certain to enrage West Africa’s political bloc, which has asked for a speedy restoration to constitutional order.
Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, the chairman of the junta that seized power in a coup last September, said on state television on Saturday that after political deliberations, he was considering a 39-month transition – the first time he has given a timetable.
Over the last two years, military commanders have seized power in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, sparking fears of a democratic backslide in West Africa, which had begun to shed its reputation as a “coup belt” over the previous decade.
The coups have strained relations with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is working to restore power to civilians.
Mali’s economy has already been hammered by ECOWAS sanctions imposed when military officials suggested retaining control until 2025, cutting it off from regional commerce and financial markets. Mali has been allocated 12-16 months by ECOWAS to organize democratic elections.
ECOWAS called for “a more acceptable timescale” when Burkina Faso’s authorities proposed a three-year transition to civilian administration, but stopped short of putting sanctions on the poor country.
Guinea’s junta leaders have been sanctioned by ECOWAS, but not the country’s economy. On Sunday, a spokeswoman declined to comment.
Doumbouya said he would forward the plan to the National Transitional Council, an 80-member group established up by the junta to operate as parliament as the country prepares for elections.
The initiative was denounced by the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC), a combination of political parties and civil society organizations.
“The National Coordination of the FNDC reminds (Doumbouya) that the National Transitional Council’s endorsement of the junta’s proposal, which has no legal basis,” it said in a statement.
Doumbouya claimed that negotiations with political parties and civil society groups, which his main opponents boycotted, yielded an average timeline of 39 months.
When the 39-month timeframe would begin was unclear.
Source: Reuters
