Guinea Junta To Hold Elections In 2009 -France

`The CNDD said `yes` to the time frame. Captain Camara was very clear ... in accepting the period of 12 months,` Joyandet told journalists.

Alain Joyandet, representing the West African bauxite exporter's former colonial ruler, met leaders of the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) junta, which had promised elections within two years.

"The CNDD said 'yes' to the time frame. Captain Camara was very clear ... in accepting the period of 12 months," Joyandet told journalists.

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, until recently a little-known young army officer, seized power after the death of President Lansana Conte late last month.

Much of the West, which has condemned the coup, wanted to see elections within six months, Joyandet said. But it would be difficult to organise a poll quickly, particularly as voter lists were not complete, he added.

"Before the end of 2009, it is imperative that the country has a parliament and a president," he said.

Camara, who appointed a civilian prime minister last week, has said he will not stand for election as president of a country where several foreign mining firms have operations.

Major donors, the United States and European Union, have demanded a return to constitutional rule, and the African Union has suspended Guinea's membership. But there has been little internal opposition and some nearby countries have indicated that they were likely to work with Camara.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi briefly visited Guinea on Saturday, and said national security outweighed other concerns.

"This action is indispensable for the security of Guinea," he said of the coup. "The African Union should support this action," he said on Guinean state television.

The presidents of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea Bissau attended Conte's state funeral, hosted by the CNDD.

Senegal's president, Aboulaye Wade, cancelled a planned visit to Conakry earlier this week, but has publicly praised Camara and the CNDD.