Return Guinea to constitutional order or...ECOWAS⁰

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is current Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority has served notice the Republic of Guinea faces sanctions unless the country is returned to constitutional order.

In a terse message condemning the weekend's coup in Guinea by soldiers that has seen President Alpha Condé's rule toppled, President Akufo-Addo said "ECOWAS demands respect for the physical safety of the President of the Republic, Professor Alpha Condé", saying the regional block objects to "any unconstitutional political change".

"We ask the Guinean defense and security forces to remain in a constitutional posture, and express our solidarity with the Guinean people and their Government."

The 83 year-old Alpha Condé who has been President of Guinea since December 2010, was in his third term in office after winning presidential elections in 2020 with 59.5%. He has been seen in a video that appears to have been taken after the military coup wearing a partly buttoned shirt over a pair of jeans and seated among a number of arms-bearing soldiers. He looks disheveled away from the usual suit-draped individual he is known publicly.