Guinea: on the eve of the vote, Alpha Condé promises a "transparent" ballot

An electoral poster in favor of the "yes" to the referendum in Conakry, February 24, 2020. Carole Valade / RFI

Text by: RFI Follow

Nearly 5 million Guineans are called to the polls this Sunday March 22 for a double ballot bringing together the legislative and a disputed constitutional referendum. On the eve of the vote, clashes broke out in the country and President Alpha Condé sought to respond to the concerns of the international community.

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Guinean President Alpha Condé spoke this Saturday March 21 in the afternoon, during an address on the eve of the double ballot to which the Guineans are invited. Sunday March 22, voters are called to renew their deputies but also to vote by referendum on the new Constitution. The amendment of the basic law could allow the Head of State to seek a third term.

The Guinean opposition categorically opposes this referendum. On Friday, Guinea's international partners, the European Union, the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) expressed strong reservations about the reliability of the process electoral. Alpha Condé replied indirectly.

" The ECOWAS, the African Union and the OIF made recommendations through the experts, which were fully taken into account, " said the president. We thank the ECOWAS and the AU (African Union) of which we are founding members. We also thank the OIF, to which we belong for our history and our culture. Guineans, Guineans, very dear compatriots, the next elections will be held in transparency, with absolute respect for democratic rules and republican customs. "

Moussa Faki, president of the African Union Commission, expressed his concern this Saturday "in the face of the tensions and divergences that prevail between Guinean political actors and their potential consequences on the long-term stability of the country ". It calls on all parties concerned to refrain from any action that could further complicate the current situation.

Clashes and incidents across the country

On the eve of this double ballot, tensions erupted almost everywhere in the territory, both in Conakry and in several localities in the interior of the country where anti-new Constitution protesters and security forces clashed. In Conakry, the capital's red-hot districts, which were favorable to opposition, were the scene of fires, looting and acts of vandalism.

Protesters inside the country attacked the symbols. This is particularly the case in Labé, where unidentified individuals set fire to the historic Kolima palace, more than half a century old, which was to serve as the polling station tomorrow. In Mamou, in the center of the country, two schools which were also to serve as polling stations were burnt down. And the premises of the gendarmerie of Porédaka were vandalized as well as burnt electoral material.

The same scene was observed in Yomou, in the far south of the country, where the courthouse went up in smoke. And the locality of Palé recorded violence of the same nature. Finally, Télimélé, in the center-west, and Boké in the west, did not remain on the sidelines of these events.

Six months of demonstrations

This vote therefore takes place in a context of tensions and violence that has lasted for six months. Opposition and civil society believe that the outgoing president, Alpha Condé, will try to run for a third term at the end of the year, if the new Constitution is adopted. Result, this double ballot is boycotted and challenged by a fringe of the political class.

For the authorities, this referendum proposes a modern Constitution , which should in particular make it possible to better anchor the gender balance and to mark progress in social matters. But barely announced, this project has raised a lot of contestation.

From October, opposition and civil society gathered around the Common Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC). With one objective: to oppose a possible third term of the outgoing president. The FNDC mobilization days occasionally result in violence and material damage: the FNDC deplores more than thirty dead, many injured and the multiplication of "preventive arrests" by the security forces.

Behind the scenes, West African heads of state and former companions of President Alpha Condé try to convince him to give up the referendum, which crystallizes all these tensions. But in vain.

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