In the News: New electoral postponement in Guinea

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By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

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On February 28, President Alpha Condé announced a two-week postponement of the constitutional referendum and legislative elections scheduled for March 1, against a backdrop of strong opposition and criticism from the international community. Finally, the poll will also not take place this Sunday, March 15. This was stated by the president of the Election Commission.

The reason ? International critics are multiplying about the flawed electoral file ... After the OIF, La Francophonie, it is indeed ECOWAS 'turn to express reservations on this famous file.

“ ECOWAS recommended removing from the Guinean electoral register more than 2,400,000 thousand voters, exclaims the information site Guinea 7 , who are 'without supporting documents'. Or nearly a third of voters without any legal basis. This is not without consequences… ”

Moreover, remarked Ledjely , another Guinean information site, “ it is to be asked if such a high figure is precisely not at the origin of the massive recruitment of minors that the opposition had denounced during the last recording operations. "

And we come back to Guinea 7 who wonders: " What would happen if a citizen, provided with his voter card, did not find his name at a polling station on polling day? He who has been voting for years? You have to fear a general hustle and bustle. Because, the area of ​​Conakry, alone, contains almost a quarter of the 'voters without coins'. "

Furthermore, continues Guinea 7 , " if some of the extirpated voters succeeded in voting, this could discredit the vote. In the sense that we could end up with more voters than registered in some polling stations. "

In short, how can we hold fair and equitable elections under these conditions?

Towards a flat overhaul of the file?

We must therefore tackle, considers L'Observateur Paalga in Ouagadougou, " a real job of wringing out the corrupt file, which in reality should require a real overhaul to clean up the document before calling the voters. A business that will necessarily require both money and time . However, the Burkinabé daily points out, time is all that Alpha Condé does not have, engaged as he is in a forced march for the revision of the Constitution which should allow him to pave the way for a third mandate . "

Indeed, says Observer Paalga , " under the Charter of the African Union and that of ECOWAS, which both prohibit the revision of fundamental texts (Constitution, Electoral Code), Alpha Conté has until 21 April at the latest to flout his constitutional object or… give up . "

Coronavirus: Africa between trust and containment

Also on the front page, the coronavirus epidemic, with a first case in Côte d'Ivoire…

" This is," says L'Intelligent in Abidjan, "a 45-year-old Ivorian man who stayed in Italy. The patient was quickly taken care of at the Treichville University Hospital in the service of infectious and tropical diseases. His clinical condition is stable and reassuring. "

The Intelligent who recalls the instructions to be observed to avoid illness: wash your hands as often as possible, cough or sneeze into the crease of your elbow and avoid any handshake and kissing…

For its part, Le Monde Afrique takes stock of the various measures put in place on the continent to try to counter the spread of the disease: " between confidence and containment, how Africa is stopping the epidemic ", title The World Africa. " Systematic quarantine in Congo, self-isolation in Côte d'Ivoire ... From one country to another, the degree of screening of travelers from risk areas is different. "

Finally, when interviewed by Jeune Afrique , Doctor Michel Yao, head of emergency operations for the World Health Organization in Africa, expressed his fears: " If we went to the next step, Africa would soon be over. (…) The problem is rapid contamination by air. Our major fear is that cases will arise in a precarious and heavily populated neighborhood. In this kind of scenario, if the care capacity is not up to par, the assessment could be very heavy. "

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• Guinea
• Alpha Condé
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