Guinea: Former prime minister reappointed to new government

Guinea’s former Prime Minister, Amadou Oury Bah, has been reappointed to the role he previously held by the new government, as reported by Africa News via AFP on January 27th.

Bah had previously served in this role for almost two years under the military junta government, established in 2021 following a military coup.

His reappointment was announced on January 26th, less than two weeks after the newly elected President Mamadi Doumbouya was sworn into office at a ceremony near Conakry on January 17th.

The televised decree confirming Bah’s reappointment also announced that the government will include 27 ministers and two secretaries-general, with their appointments expected in the coming days.

Doumbouya won the presidential election held on December 28th, 2025, Guinea’s first election since the 2021 coup that ousted the freely elected President Alpha Conde, who, along with former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diall, is barred from contesting the election due to age and residency restrictions.

According to reports, the former middle-ranking soldier received 86.7% of the vote in the election, with Doumbouya’s popularity linked to his embrace of resource nationalism, as Guinea holds vast iron ore reserves and the world’s largest bauxite reserves.

This is despite Doumbouya initially promising not to run for office and to transition Guinea’s military junta to a civilian government by the end of 2024, in accordance with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) obligations, which Doumbouya accepted in 2022.

The junta failed to meet the 2024 deadline, leading to the introduction of a transitional framework that barred junta members from contesting elections.

In September, the junta was accused of trying to further entrench military rule through a referendum over a draft constitution that would allow Doumbouya, the junta’s leader, to run for office. It was argued that Doumbouya would use the presidency as a power grab to further legitimise his military government.

However, Doumbouya oversaw a constitutional amendment that lifted the ban on military leaders running for office in November; the legislation also extended presidential terms from 5 to 7 years.

Despite being sanctioned by the African Union (AU) in 2021 following the military coup, the AU announced on January 23rd that it would lift sanctions on Guinea.

The AU hailed “the positive steps taken in the implementation of the Political Transition Roadmap in the Republic of Guinea, which culminated in the successful organisation of the presidential election.”

Although the AU has praised Guinea’s elections, critics have urged the country’s return to civilian rule and have denounced the poll as a “charade”, while opposition figures allege it was rife with irregularities.

Africa News via AFP, Maghrebi.org