The head of Guinea's election commission and a senior aide have been sentenced to a year in jail for fraud during June's presidential vote.
The verdicts are likely to increase tensions ahead of the 19 September run-off, correspondents say.
The complaint was lodged by veteran opposition leader Alpha Conde, who faces ex-Prime Minister Cellou Diallo.
The vote was seen as the first democratic election in the mineral-rich West African state since independence.
The army seized power after the death of autocratic leader Lansana Conte in 2008.
Neither men were in court to hear the verdict. National Independent Election Commission (Ceni) president Ben Sekou Sylla has been in France for medical reasons since the day after the vote.
Ceni planning director El Haj Boubacar Diallo told the AP news agency that he first learnt of the sentence against him was when a journalist phoned him for his reaction.
"I was at the office all day yesterday [Thursday]. No-one from the court called me. Not even my lawyer was told about the judge's decision," he said.
The former prime minister is seen as the favourite in the run-off after gaining 44% of the first round vote, compared to 18% for Mr Conde.
"Alpha Conde knows he cannot win. So he is using his connections inside the army and inside the interim government to try to manipulate the outcome of the vote," the Ceni planning director said.
Some fear that the vote could raise ethnic tensions in Guinea as the two men come from the country's two largest communities - Mr Diallo is a Peul and Mr Conde a Malinke.
Guinea is the world's largest exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite. It also has important deposits of iron ore.
Despite its mineral wealth, the country is one of the poorest in West Africa.
The head of Guinea's election commission and a senior aide have been sentenced to a year in jail for fraud during June's presidential vote.
The verdicts are likely to increase tensions ahead of the 19 September run-off, correspondents say.
The complaint was lodged by veteran opposition leader Alpha Conde, who faces ex-Prime Minister Cellou Diallo.
The vote was seen as the first democratic election in the mineral-rich West African state since independence.
The army seized power after the death of autocratic leader Lansana Conte in 2008.
Neither men were in court to hear the verdict. National Independent Election Commission (Ceni) president Ben Sekou Sylla has been in France for medical reasons since the day after the vote.
Ceni planning director El Haj Boubacar Diallo told the AP news agency that he first learnt of the sentence against him was when a journalist phoned him for his reaction.
"I was at the office all day yesterday [Thursday]. No-one from the court called me. Not even my lawyer was told about the judge's decision," he said.
The former prime minister is seen as the favourite in the run-off after gaining 44% of the first round vote, compared to 18% for Mr Conde.
"Alpha Conde knows he cannot win. So he is using his connections inside the army and inside the interim government to try to manipulate the outcome of the vote," the Ceni planning director said.
Some fear that the vote could raise ethnic tensions in Guinea as the two men come from the country's two largest communities - Mr Diallo is a Peul and Mr Conde a Malinke.
Guinea is the world's largest exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite. It also has important deposits of iron ore.
Despite its mineral wealth, the country is one of the poorest in West Africa.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11258839
Showing posts with label guinea elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guinea elections. Show all posts
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Burkinabe President Tries to Mediate Differences between Guinea’s Presidential Candidates
The president of Guinea’s Research Institute on Democracy and Rule of Law, a non-governmental organization, says Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore is mediating talks between Guinea’s two presidential candidates.
Attorney Thierno Balde said the ongoing talks are aimed at preventing violence, as well as resolving all outstanding issues, ahead of the September 19 second round presidential vote.
“When President Blaise Compaore came to visit General Sekouba Konate two weeks ago, they agreed that he will invite the two leading candidates to Ouagadougou to hold talks and to agree on the process which will lead to the elections on September 19th,” he said.
Backed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Compaore is helping Guinea’s efforts to return to constitutional rule.
There has been reported tension between the two presidential aspirants and their supporters during campaigns ahead of the vote.
Long time opposition leader Alpha Conde accused some members of the electoral commission of violating the country’s electoral code and demanded their removal ahead of the vote.
Former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo also accused Mr. Conde of having an agreement with the transitional Prime Minister, Jean-Marie Dore, to help manipulate the results of the vote.
Attorney Balde said the presidential candidates are expected to sign an agreement after the talks pledging to use legal means, not violence, to address their concerns over the results of the September vote.
“According to close [aides] of the two candidates, the idea is to have an agreement between them so that, when the elections will be organized, both of them will accept the results. And that, if they have any issue, they will use the legal means and, that no matter what happens, they will avoid using violence as a means of expressing their views,” Balde said.
He said officials in the transitional government have announced that they have been able to resolve the controversial issues surrounding the first round of voting to ensure a better second round.
International poll observers have concluded the June 27 first round vote was credible despite isolated reports of voter irregularities. It was Guinea’s first democratic vote since the country gained its independence in 1958 from France.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Burkinabe-President-Tries-to-Mediate-Differences-between-Guineas-Presidential-Candidates-102118689.html?utm_source=voa_news-twitter-account&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=twitterfeed
Attorney Thierno Balde said the ongoing talks are aimed at preventing violence, as well as resolving all outstanding issues, ahead of the September 19 second round presidential vote.
“When President Blaise Compaore came to visit General Sekouba Konate two weeks ago, they agreed that he will invite the two leading candidates to Ouagadougou to hold talks and to agree on the process which will lead to the elections on September 19th,” he said.
Backed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Compaore is helping Guinea’s efforts to return to constitutional rule.
There has been reported tension between the two presidential aspirants and their supporters during campaigns ahead of the vote.
Long time opposition leader Alpha Conde accused some members of the electoral commission of violating the country’s electoral code and demanded their removal ahead of the vote.
Former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo also accused Mr. Conde of having an agreement with the transitional Prime Minister, Jean-Marie Dore, to help manipulate the results of the vote.
Attorney Balde said the presidential candidates are expected to sign an agreement after the talks pledging to use legal means, not violence, to address their concerns over the results of the September vote.
“According to close [aides] of the two candidates, the idea is to have an agreement between them so that, when the elections will be organized, both of them will accept the results. And that, if they have any issue, they will use the legal means and, that no matter what happens, they will avoid using violence as a means of expressing their views,” Balde said.
He said officials in the transitional government have announced that they have been able to resolve the controversial issues surrounding the first round of voting to ensure a better second round.
International poll observers have concluded the June 27 first round vote was credible despite isolated reports of voter irregularities. It was Guinea’s first democratic vote since the country gained its independence in 1958 from France.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Burkinabe-President-Tries-to-Mediate-Differences-between-Guineas-Presidential-Candidates-102118689.html?utm_source=voa_news-twitter-account&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=twitterfeed
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Texts a New Tool in Guinea’s Historic Election
Mobile phones turned citizens into election observers in Guinea’s landmark presidential election. The technology will also be used to help voters in the upcoming September run-off poll.
By Kwami Ahiabenu II
On June 27, 2010, Guinea held what is widely being hailed as the nation’s first freely run democratic election since gaining independence in 1958. A run-off between the two presidential candidates earning the most votes will take place on September 19, 2010. Another first in this landmark election process is the use of mobile phone technology.
Mobile phones have become a preferred means of communication in Africa because they are convenient and affordable relative to other methods. Most countries on the continent are now recording the use of mobile phones by all key stakeholders in their elections: from electoral officials, political parties and individual candidates, to electoral security agencies, civil society organizations, and local and international observers.
Candidates use mobile phones to raise funds and campaign. Voters can use mobile phones to verify their registration information and correct it if necessary before going to the polls. Mobile phones are also used to inform citizens about voter registration, and to inform registered voters about when, where and how to vote. And, in Guinea, phones have been used as a tool for election observation.
"If you have a problem during voting, send a text message to 8080." During the first round of elections in June, this was the message that Guineans around the country received at public forums, on the radio and in newspapers. The message advertised an election-monitoring service based on SMS text messages. The SMS service used a short code number, "8080," which enabled all mobile users in Guinea, regardless of their mobile operator, to send election-related queries, comments and report problems. The service was implemented by a coalition of government, private and business partners. These included the nonprofit group Alliance Guinea, the African Elections Project, Guinea's National Independent Election Commission (CENI), mobile operators (Areeba, Cellcom, Intercel Guinee, Orange or Sotelgui) and African Business Services.
Commenting on the SMS election-monitoring service, U.S. Ambassador Patricia Moller said at a briefing before the June election: "The United States is committed to ensuring that these are the freest and most transparent elections in Guinea's history. This innovative initiative will help to make this vision a reality…By providing voters with the means to protect their vote, we have helped to place the future of their country in the palm of their hands. This technology will allow CENI, local and international observers, and security forces to respond to incidents in real time."
After voters went to the polls, Alix Davilmar of the Guinea-based African Business Services, the providers of the short code service, declared the service a success. Davilmar said: "We received about 4,000 SMS [messages] before the day of election and on the day of elections there were approximately 8,000 SMS entries. After the Election Day, over 2,000 SMS entries also came in. These messages were all posted online and distributed as e-mail alerts to election administrators and observers, international media, civil society organizations or the general public.”
The election did experience some glitches, according to the Carter Center, a U.S. NGO with expertise in observing elections which was on the ground in Guinea. In a statement, the Carter Center described some of the problems observed, “Confusion about several important aspects of voting and counting procedures, delay in allocation of polling stations, and late delivery of essential voting materials negatively affected the quality of polling.”
Despite these difficulties, the period following the election has been calm and the results respected by all parties. The Carter Center itself declared the elections a success and noted, “the elections were marked by broad political participation, a spirit of open campaigning, and transparency.”
Now all eyes are on the September poll, as Guineans prepare for the country’s return to civilian rule.
http://audiencescapes.org/texts-new-tool-guinea-historic-election-mobile-communications-carter-center
By Kwami Ahiabenu II
On June 27, 2010, Guinea held what is widely being hailed as the nation’s first freely run democratic election since gaining independence in 1958. A run-off between the two presidential candidates earning the most votes will take place on September 19, 2010. Another first in this landmark election process is the use of mobile phone technology.
Mobile phones have become a preferred means of communication in Africa because they are convenient and affordable relative to other methods. Most countries on the continent are now recording the use of mobile phones by all key stakeholders in their elections: from electoral officials, political parties and individual candidates, to electoral security agencies, civil society organizations, and local and international observers.
Candidates use mobile phones to raise funds and campaign. Voters can use mobile phones to verify their registration information and correct it if necessary before going to the polls. Mobile phones are also used to inform citizens about voter registration, and to inform registered voters about when, where and how to vote. And, in Guinea, phones have been used as a tool for election observation.
"If you have a problem during voting, send a text message to 8080." During the first round of elections in June, this was the message that Guineans around the country received at public forums, on the radio and in newspapers. The message advertised an election-monitoring service based on SMS text messages. The SMS service used a short code number, "8080," which enabled all mobile users in Guinea, regardless of their mobile operator, to send election-related queries, comments and report problems. The service was implemented by a coalition of government, private and business partners. These included the nonprofit group Alliance Guinea, the African Elections Project, Guinea's National Independent Election Commission (CENI), mobile operators (Areeba, Cellcom, Intercel Guinee, Orange or Sotelgui) and African Business Services.
Commenting on the SMS election-monitoring service, U.S. Ambassador Patricia Moller said at a briefing before the June election: "The United States is committed to ensuring that these are the freest and most transparent elections in Guinea's history. This innovative initiative will help to make this vision a reality…By providing voters with the means to protect their vote, we have helped to place the future of their country in the palm of their hands. This technology will allow CENI, local and international observers, and security forces to respond to incidents in real time."
After voters went to the polls, Alix Davilmar of the Guinea-based African Business Services, the providers of the short code service, declared the service a success. Davilmar said: "We received about 4,000 SMS [messages] before the day of election and on the day of elections there were approximately 8,000 SMS entries. After the Election Day, over 2,000 SMS entries also came in. These messages were all posted online and distributed as e-mail alerts to election administrators and observers, international media, civil society organizations or the general public.”
The election did experience some glitches, according to the Carter Center, a U.S. NGO with expertise in observing elections which was on the ground in Guinea. In a statement, the Carter Center described some of the problems observed, “Confusion about several important aspects of voting and counting procedures, delay in allocation of polling stations, and late delivery of essential voting materials negatively affected the quality of polling.”
Despite these difficulties, the period following the election has been calm and the results respected by all parties. The Carter Center itself declared the elections a success and noted, “the elections were marked by broad political participation, a spirit of open campaigning, and transparency.”
Now all eyes are on the September poll, as Guineans prepare for the country’s return to civilian rule.
http://audiencescapes.org/texts-new-tool-guinea-historic-election-mobile-communications-carter-center
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