Guinea opposition leader Diallo welcomes coup against Conde

Soldiers were still manning roadblocks in Conakry Monday and some roads remained cut off to civilian traffic as the military spent its first full day in charge of Guinea.

In a press conference on Monday, opposition leader Cellou Diallo said he was willing to work with the junta, a major endorsement from the political class for coup leader Mamady Doumbouya.

"The CNRD (National Committee for Rally and Development) can count on the support of ANAD in the effort to build a peaceful democracy in our country. This is an opportunity to pay tribute to all Guineans inside and outside the country, whose mobilization contributed to the fall of this dictatorship, and to honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the advent of September 5, 2021 (date of the coup)"), said Cellou Dalein Diallo, leader of the National Alliance for Change and Democracy (ANAD).

But the West African faces major political uncertainty regardless. Alpha Conde had only been re-elected for a third presidential term last November. The military has not revealed a broader plan for governing the country, other than an announcement to replace regional governors with military commanders.

Some fear that the coup will mark the return of military rule to Guinea, a country that's no stranger to volatility. 

"If this situation continues, the army may return to power, because everything was already planned. Just think, we have a country where a professor (Alpha Conde) comes to power, and we are told that he is a professor of law, so there was hope in Guinea that we would experience a handover of power for the first time in the Republic of Guinea. But unfortunately, the professor was deceived by his entourage and finally, he fell for his own trap," François Kolié, an activist.

Mamady Doumbouya, a former French army officer cited poverty and corruption as justification for his coup.