On 5 September 2021, President of Guinea Alpha Condé was captured by the country's armed forces in a coup d'état after gunfire in the capital, Conakry. Special forces commander Mamady Doumbouya released a broadcast on state television announcing the dissolution of the constitution and government.
After several decades of authoritarian rule in Guinea, Condé was the country's first democratically elected leader. During his time in office, Guinea used its rich natural resources to improve the economy, but the bulk of the country's population has not felt its effects. In 2020, Condé changed the constitution by referendum to allow himself to secure a third term, a controversial change which spurred the 2019–2020 Guinean protests. During the last year of the second term and his third term, Condé cracked down on protests and on opposition candidates, some of which died in prison, while the government struggled to contain price increases in basic commodities. In August 2021, in an attempt to balance the budget, Guinea announced tax hikes, slashed spending on the police and the military, and increased funding for the office of the President and National Assembly.
