Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the self-declared president of Guinea brought to power in a military coup, is demanding that the country's prime minister come out of hiding.

After parading through the crowded streets of the capital on Wednesday, Camara told Ahmed Tidiane Souare that he must present himself along with the country's other leaders. 

In a radio broadcast on Thursday, Camara said he was giving the heads of government and the country's armed forces 24 hours to arrive at the Alpha Yava Diallo barracks.

Camara was unknown to most Guineans until Tuesday, when he and other members of his faction announced a coup d'etat after the death of Lansana Conte, the country's former president.

The coup leaders initially promised elections within 60 days, but Camara said on Wednesday that the group would organise a presidential election by 2010.

Camara also plans to lead a 32-member National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), made up of 26 military officers and six civilians.

Richard Cornwell, a regional analyst from the Institute of Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa, told Al Jazeera that there seems to be an enthusiastic atmosphere for Camara.

"It's early days yet, a lot can happen in politics even in one week ... and there are all kinds of ambitious politicians there who may have their own interests in mind," he said.

Cheering crowds

"But it is well known that the army itself has a lot of grievances against the old regime, and there may be future attempts to change just who may be heading this country, but all this remains to be seen."

Thousands of Guineans, cheered Camara as he brandished the national flag, while on board a military convoy, waving to the crowd in Conakry on Wednesday.

The pro-coup forces continue to move freely and unopposed around the sprawling coastal city, and according to witnesses and police sources, were arresting potential opponents.

In a televised statement broadcast on Wednesday, Camara defended the coup as "a civic act ... to save a people in distress".

But the United Nations, the European Union and the United States all condemned the latest political upheaval in Africa, which follows post-election turmoil in Kenya and Zimbabwe, and an August military coup in Mauritania.