Guinea's self-appointed military leaders have dissolved the government and will appoint a new one, the presidency's secretary general said in a filmed statement on Monday.
The West African country has been under military rule since a junta seized power in a September 2021 coup.
The region's main economic and political bloc, ECOWAS, has been pressuring the junta, one of several in West Africa, to hold elections within an acceptable delay and restore civilian rule.
Both parties agreed on a 24-month transition timeline on October 2022.
Forming a new government
The presidency's secretary general, Amara Camara, unexpectedly announced on Monday that the government had been dissolved.
Without providing a reason for the move, he said in a pre-recorded video posted on the presidency's social media channels that directors of cabinet, secretary generals and their deputies would be in charge until a new government was formed.
The effects of the dissolution will depend on the new government formed.
Referendum planned
Last month, the head of Guinea's ruling junta said a constitutional referendum will be held in 2024, a key step towards the return of civilian rule.
Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who has ruled since overthrowing the country's first democratically elected president in 2021, announced the vote during an end-of-year speech late Sunday. He gave no date for the referendum.
"In the new year, a new constitution which resembles us and brings us together will be submitted to a referendum," Doumbouya said.
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