The 36-month transition, decided at a legislative plenary meeting on Wednesday, is slightly shorter than the 39 months which military junta leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya had announced.

The timetable presented by the National Rallying Committee for Development (CNRD), set up by the junta and headed by Doumbouya, was "debated, approved and adopted" by the National Transition Council (CNT) legislative body.

Last September, army officers led by Colonel Doumbouya ousted elected president Alpha Conde in the impoverished former French colony.

Conde, 84, had drawn fierce opposition after he pushed through a new constitution in 2020 that allowed him to run for a third presidential term.

Following the coup, the West African bloc ECOWAS called for a return to civilian rule within six months.

Although many Guineans initially welcomed the coup, there is growing discontent against the junta in the nation of 13 million people.

A CNT spokesperson told AFP that a 36-month transition period would be "sufficient" in order to prepare the country for a return to constitutional order.

UN chief Antonio Guterres this month called for the military juntas in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali to hand power back to civilians as soon as possible.