Briefing Paper

Guinea: The Main Challenges of the New President

“The aim of this policy brief is to draw
attention to some of the main challenges
that the newly elected president of Guinea
will face, and to formulate policy recommendations in view of addressing these
challenges. For the first time since it
regained its independence in 1958, Guinea
has a president who has been democratically
elected without any undue advantage of
incumbency. Given the many challenges
facing the country, it is evident that the new president does not come with a magical
wand capable of solving all the problems
overnight. Nonetheless, he has the onerous
task of meeting at least some of the pressing
popular expectations of Guineans. The policy
brief identifies five main areas to which
the president should give priority, namely:
(i) national reconciliation; (ii) inclusive
governance, in the sense that the political
opposition is regarded as a partner rather
than an adversary; (iii) the fight against
impunity and the establishment of the rule
of law; (iv) reform of the security sector;
and (v) improvement of the living conditions
of the masses.”