Guinea PM pledges to stick to junta transition plan

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PM Mohamed Beavogui said the "main directions" of his government would align with those previously announced by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power last month.
Guinea's junta named international-development veteran Beavogui as prime minister on Wednesday.
The appointment followed a September 5 coup led by Doumbouya, which deposed elected president Alpha Conde.

Guinea's new prime minister Mohamed Beavogui on Thursday promised to follow a plan to restore civilian rule set out by the West African state's ruling military.

Speaking to local media, Beavogui said the "main directions" of his government would align with those previously announced by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power last month.

Guinea's junta named international-development veteran Beavogui as prime minister on Wednesday.

The appointment followed a September 5 coup led by Doumbouya, which deposed elected president Alpha Conde.

Doumbouya, a 37-year-old former special-forces commander, was sworn in as interim president on October 1. He has promised to restore civilian rule after a transition period of unspecified length.

The junta also unveiled a so-called transition charter late last month that includes plans to revise the constitution and hold "free, democratic and transparent elections."

On Thursday, Prime Minister Beavogui, 68, said he would follow the transition charter, pledging a government of what he called "deliverables."

"We have a shared view on what this country should be," Beavogui said, referring to strongman Doumbouya.

"I am fully committed, I am ready and I will give him all my support".

Beavogui, an engineering graduate, has had a prestigious career in international development, including with the United Nations.

His lack of experience in national government potentially distances him from Guinea's vicious political infighting.

Last month's coup ousted 83-year-old Conde after months of brewing discontent with his administration in the turbulent nation of 13 million people.

A former opposition figure, Conde became Guinea's first democratically elected president in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.

But last year, Conde pushed through a new constitution enabling him to run for a third term in October 2020.

The move sparked mass demonstrations in which dozens of protesters were killed. Conde won the election but the political opposition maintained the poll was a sham.