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CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — A new political party in Guinea has named as its chairman former strongman Moussa Dadis Camara, who took power by staging a coup and was later shot in the head and went into exile, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Camara resigned from the army in March and was appointed to head the Patriotic Forces for Democracy and Development on Sunday, his lawyer Jean Baptiste Jocamey Haba said.
"Guineans who trusted in him have invested in him as the head of the party on May 3," the lawyer said, adding that since Camara had resigned from the army he dropped his former title of Captain.
The announcement comes ahead of elections slated for October.
Political analyst Idrissa Sow said that Camara's entry into politics now could deal a serious blow to President Alpha Conde, who wants to seek a second term in office.
Camara seized power in a 2008 military coup, hours after the death of longtime despot Lansana Conte. Camara was shot in the head in 2009 by a top aide, and went to Burkina Faso as part of a peace deal. In his absence, the junta's No. 2 seized the opportunity to arrange for the country's much-tarnished military to step aside and allow elections to unfold.
Guinea, which suffered through decades of dictatorship and strongman-rule, held its first democratic elections in 2010.
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