The junta leader in Guinea, Col Mamady Doumbouya, has asserted that the Western model of democracy does not work in Africa, as he defended the use of military intervention.
He informed the UN General Assembly in New York that the continent was suffering from a ‘model of governance that has been imposed on us’ and which was ‘having trouble adapting to our reality’.
‘It is time to stop lecturing us and stop treating us with condescension like children,’ he added.
Col Doumbouya took power in a coup in 2021, ousting President Alpha Condé.
He defended taking that action to the UN assembly saying it was ‘to save our country from complete chaos’.
Excited crowds applauded the coup’s announcement at the moment in Conakry, the country’s capital, as many people were relieved that President Condé had been overthrown.
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But the country was suspended from the regional group, Ecowas, in the wake of the military takeover, with regional leaders calling for a return to civilian rule.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that last year, Col Doumbouya’s did give a timetable for a transition to elected government after talks with Ecowas but there has been little progress in organising a vote, the Reuters news agency reports.
Guinea is among a number of countries in western and central Africa that have seen coups in recent years including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon.
The coups have been strongly condemned by Ecowas, the African Union and the UN.