Will legislative elections take place? The Guinean opposition announced Monday, December 23, in Conakry that it would boycott the poll scheduled for February 16 and prevent its holding, in a country plagued by deadly violence because of the intention lent to the leader of the State to run for a third term in 2020.
"We have decided that we cannot participate. It is not about boycotting and sitting idly by. We will prevent these elections from taking place," said opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo. , following a meeting of the leaders of some twenty opposition parties.
Denouncing an "electoral masquerade", Cellou Dalein Diallo justified this decision by divergences with the capacity, in particular on the revision of the electoral register. "There has been a massive enrollment of minors," while "people who have the right have not been allowed to enroll," he said. "We cannot accept that an election based on this file be held," he added.
A challenge that does not weaken
"We have made an important decision today which will consist of not (competing) with (the president) Alpha Condé until the conditions for a free and transparent election are met", added another official of the opposition, Etienne Soropogui.
>> Read also: Guinea: at least one dead in a new mass demonstration by the opposition
The announcement of the boycott of the legislative comes while the challenge against the intention attributed to President Condé to run for a third term has not weakened.
A "constitutional coup"
On December 19, the head of state, elected in 2010 and reelected in 2015, released a draft new constitution to be submitted to the Guinean people on an unspecified date. The Guinean opposition immediately shouted for a "constitutional coup" and confirmed its call to demonstrate massively on Thursday, December 26.
>> Read also: Despite the dispute, Alpha Condé announces a project for a new Constitution
The maneuver lent to the Guinean president provoked demonstrations for two months having gathered in Conakry and in the provinces tens, even hundreds of thousands of Guineans opposed to this prospect.
The protest, which was severely repressed on several occasions, resulted in the deaths of at least 20 civilians and a gendarme. Hundreds of people have been arrested. Human rights defenders denounce the excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests and the impunity of the security forces.
A draft Constitution
The draft Constitution "will be widely popularized before its adoption by the sovereign people," assured the Guinean president last week.
Article 40 of the text stipulates that "the President of the Republic is elected by direct universal suffrage for a mandate of six years, renewable once". The presidential mandate is currently five years, renewable also once.
Only, said the opposition, this new Constitution would not contradict the designs of Alpha Condé. On the contrary, it would reset the counters to zero, allowing it to represent itself.
With AFP
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