Guinea swears in junta chief as interim president

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - The head of the military junta that took control of Guinea last month was sworn in on Friday as the country's new interim president.

During the live-streamed ceremony at the Mohammed V Palace in the capital Conakry, Col. Mamadi Doumbouya pledged to ensure an independent judiciary that he said would be "imperative for the credibility of the state and restoration of public confidence."

Doumbouya, who was sworn into office by Supreme Court chief Mamadou Sylla, is expected to appoint a transitional prime minister followed by the establishment of a National Transitional Council. After overthrowing former President Alpha Conde in a Sept. 5 coup, he promised to steer the West African country back to civilian rule.

In his inauguration speech, Doumbouya reiterated a vow that no member of the post-coup government -- including himself -- would stand in either national or local elections to be organized at the end of the transitional period, as stipulated in the "Transition Charter" unveiled early this week.

The charter outlines a series of tasks, including the drafting of a new constitution and the holding of elections, but does not define a time limit to the transitional period.

Conde, 83, had become Guinea's first democratically elected president in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.

Last year, he had pushed through constitutional changes that allowed him to run for a controversial third term, which he won in an election dismissed as a sham by the opposition.

Mass demonstrations, in which dozens of protesters were reported killed, erupted after the vote.