Guinea's transitional government has restored power to the country's Supreme Court, which is in charge of verifying candidates for the country's upcoming elections. Shortly after the decree, interim Prime Minister Jean Marie Dore announced he would not run for president.
Guinea's interim government has restored power to the country's Supreme Court, a move that local law professor Mohammed Camara says is important to the nation's upcoming elections.
Camara, who teaches law at the University of Kofi Annan in the capital Conakry, says the decree that was announced this week shows that the transition is pushing toward having elections on schedule. The presidential race is currently slated for late June.
Camara added the Supreme Court is essential to elections, because they are the legal body that receives candidate's applications to run. The Supreme Court was suspended in December of 2008, when a military junta took over in a bloodless coup after the death of longtime ruler Lansana Conte.
The military junta was lead by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, who left the country in December 2009 for medical treatment after being shot by his aide de camp. The country is currently run by Camara's deputy, General Sekouba Konate. Mr. Konate appointed Jean Marie Dore as interim prime minister.
After Dore was appointed, he said the Ouagadougou Accord, an agreement establishing the transitional government, did not apply to him. The Accord states that members of the transitional government cannot run for president. This raised some concern that Dore might try and run for office. But on Wednesday, days after the Supreme Court was restored, Dore confirmed that he would not run for office.
Guinea, the world's leading producer of bauxite, has been without a formal government for more than a year since Camara seized power in the coup. Camara was initially popular with the West, but abuses by the military, including security clashes in September that left more than 150 citizens dead, lead to increasing criticism.