An announcement from a soldier on local television revealed that the president of Guinea has been ousted after a coup occurred in the coastal West African country.
Following the September 5th coup, a soldier from the Guinea army announced on local television that the country’s three-term president, Alpha Conde, had been physically removed from office.
According to reports from within Guinea, Conde, 83, was detained after gunfire erupted in the capital city of Conakry.
Conde, Guinea’s first democratically elected president, took office in 2010. Since being elected, he has declared that constitutional term limits do not apply to him.
Soon after the president was ousted, Army Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya declared on television that the constitution was invalid and announced that the country would be charting a new path forward.
“If you see the state of our roads, if you see the state of our hospitals, you realize that after 72 years, it’s time to wake up,” the army colonel said, according to The Associated Press. “We have to wake up.”
Doumbouya has pledged to rewrite the constitution, which was approved back in 2010, and a curfew has reportedly been declared.
A statement was issued by the Biden administration, which declared that “violence” and “extra-constitutional measures” would only destroy the country’s future prospects.
“These actions could limit the ability of the United States and Guinea’s other international partners to support the country as it navigates a path toward national unity and a brighter future for the Guinean people,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
“We urge all parties to forgo violence and any efforts not supported by the Constitution and stand by the rule of law. We reiterate our encouragement of a process of national dialogue to address concerns sustainably and transparently to enable a peaceful and democratic way forward for Guinea to realize its full potential,” he added.
Alpha Conde was President of Guinea.
He passed a bill to raise HIS pay while cutting salaries of civil servants, including presidential security forces.
Now these guys are in charge of Guinea.
All politics are indeed local. pic.twitter.com/X70umDTmim
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) September 5, 2021
