The military coup d’état in Guinea on the 5th of September, 2021 and the consequent ouster as well as arrest of the 83-year-old former President Alpha Condé is a significant development in the politics of the west African region. Col. Mamady Doumouya, Head of the Special Task Force, seized power and dissolved the constitution. Condé, according to his opponents, was running an incompetent and authoritarian regime. Although the GDP of Guinea was growing at an average of 5 percent for the past five years, 70 percent of the people were earning less than US $3.20 a day. The state of roads, hospitals, and infrastructure was worsening. More importantly, Condé was violating human rights while handling his opponents. Col. Mamady Doumouya mentioned poverty and corruption as the crucial reasons for the coup. With the fall of the Condé regime, the military will form a proper government within the next few weeks. However, international organisations such as the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) as well as Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS) have condemned the coup and demanded the release of Condé. The ECOWAS went as far as to suspend Guinea from its membership and offered to send mediators to resolve the crisis. One of the major consequences of the fall of the Condé regime is the resultant uncertainty in the supplies of bauxite and iron ore. Guinea has the largest bauxite reserves in the world, which is the main source of aluminium; bauxite prices have spiked to a 10-year high in the Metal Exchange as the coup has jolted the bauxite market.
The fall of Alpha Condé’s regime in Guinea: A critical appraisal | ORF (orfonline.org)
