Conakry – A leading Guinean opposition group published a blacklist of officials to exclude from a future transition government on Friday, following a military coup in the West African state this month.
The FNDC coalition, which spearheaded protests against deposed president Alpha Conde, listed the names of about 100 people it deemed unacceptable in overseeing a transition to democratic rule.
Figures from the ex-Conde government, including former ministers, are on the list, alongside the president of the constitutional court, regional governors and police commanders.
The FNDC was at the forefront of opposition to a third term for Conde, who became Guinea’s first democratically elected president in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.
ALSO READ | Guinea junta defies poll pressure, rules out exile for ex-president
But last year, the ex-president pushed through a controversial new constitution that allowed him to sidestep a two-term limit and run for a third term in October 2020.
The move sparked mass demonstrations in which dozens of protesters were killed. Conde won the election – which was also marred by violence – but the political opposition maintained the poll was a sham.
On Friday, the FNDC said people named on its blacklist had all helped Conde run for a third term.
Ibrahima Diallo, an FNDC leader, said during a press conference in the capital Conakry that the named officials were “people to be removed from any process of return to constitutional order” – and liable to prosecution.
ALSO READ | Guinea junta hosts talks on post-coup transition
On September 5, army special forces led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya seized power in Guinea and arrested Conde, 83.
The putsch drew broad diplomatic condemnation and sparked fears of democratic backsliding across the region. The Economic Community of West African States has called on Guinea to stage elections within six months.
Doumbouya has pledged to oversee a transition, but he has so far refused to commit to a timetable.
The coup leader himself was on a similar FNDC list prior to the coup.
Diallo explained that the coalition had been urging the army to shoulder “the aspirations of the people of Guinea”.
Doumbouya was removed from the list after launching the coup, when he was judged to have done this.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
