Guinean presidential election, 2009
Encyclopedia
A presidential election in Guinea
was held under the two-round system
: the first round on 27 June 2010, and the second round, originally scheduled for 7 November, after an initial date of 18 July and many other postponements. Alpha Condé
has been provisionally declared the winner, with 52.52% of the votes in the second round.
The election came after a coup in 2008 and the attempted assassination of the junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara
in December 2009. There were months of tension and unrest during the electoral process, in which the two main candidates represented the two largest ethnic groups in Guinea: the Fula
and the Maninka
(Malinke).
. Civilian and political groups later proposed to hold them in December after legislative elections in October 2009. The government agreed in late March 2009 to set the election date for 13 and 27 December, but it was then again delayed until 31 January 2010.
While junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara
had initially stated he would not run in the election, he declared on 16 April 2009 that he, like every citizen, had the right to stand in the election. On 10 May 2009, however, he stated again that neither he nor any of the other officers involved would stand in the election. Despite this vow, supporters of Camara held a rally in August 2009 to call for him to take off his uniform and run in the elections. The United States felt that he had to abstain from running to ensure a free and fair election.
After Camara was shot in early December 2009 and Konaté took over as the country's leader, an agreement was reached on 16 January 2010 which stipulated that Camara would remain out of the country (where he had been treated for his gunshot wounds), that a transitional government would be formed and that presidential elections would be held within six months.
The election was seen as a chance to change decades of authoritarian rule following independence, as well as to bring stability and foreign investment. This was also the first democratic election since independence in 1958.
.
On 10 September, the president of the National Independent Electoral Commission (Ceni), Ben Sekou Sylla, and another official were convicted of vote-tampering during the first round of voting. The two were sentenced to "one year in prison and a fine of two million Guinea francs [$350] each for electoral fraud." Sylla died in a Paris hospital on 14 September following a long illness, and the odds of holding the election on time were very low as tensions rose in the country. Boubacar Diallo, the commission's director of planning, said "It is highly improbable that the election will be held this Sunday. It is a purely technical problem."
The Independent National Electoral Commission said a decision to postpone the election between Jean-Marie Dore
, the interim prime minister, and the two candidates, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé, was made because they needed "two weeks to prepare well." They blamed a lack of necessary voting equipment, saying it could take up to two weeks for arrangements to be in place, and that a new date was yet to be decided. The dates of 10 October, and then 24 October, were proposed for the second round, but on 22 October the vote was put off indefinitely.
Siaka Sangare, the new head of the election commission, set 7 November as the new date for the second round of the election "after wide consultation with the different parties in the transition. It is a date that has been agreed upon, cannot be changed, and, dare I say it, I think will be the last one set for this election that the Guinean people are waiting for so much." He added that the election had previously been postponsed so as to allow political parties to call for calm following violence.
and Alpha Condé
, with Diallo winning 43.69% against Condé's 18.25% and Sidya Touré
's 13.02%.
A big turnout was reported for the second round. Early results (from counting in the districts) for the second round indicated a close race, with final results due when all ballots were brought to Conakry for counting. The National Independent Election Commission (CENI) announced the preliminary results on the evening of 15 November, with Condé the winner with 52.52% of the vote on a 67.87% turnout. Earlier in the day, both candidates claimed victory, with Diallo saying that he would not accept the CENI's provisional results until his complaints of election irregularities had been investigated.
On November 18, the military declared a state of emergency
. Nouhou Thiam, the armed forces chief, read the decree on state television which prohibited civilians from congregating in the streets, while only the military and security personnel would have unrestricted movement. He said the decree would be enforced until the Supreme Court declares certifies final results, which was to occur before November 24.
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
was held under the two-round system
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
: the first round on 27 June 2010, and the second round, originally scheduled for 7 November, after an initial date of 18 July and many other postponements. Alpha Condé
Alpha Condé
Alpha Condé is a Guinean politician who has been President of Guinea since December 2010. He was a political science professor at the University of Paris and spent decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea, unsuccessfully running against President Lansana Conté in the 1993 and...
has been provisionally declared the winner, with 52.52% of the votes in the second round.
The election came after a coup in 2008 and the attempted assassination of the junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara
Moussa Dadis Camara
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara now called Moïse Dadis Camara is an ex-officer of the Guinean army who served as the President of the Republic of Guinea's National Council for Democracy and Development , which seized power in a military coup d'état on 23 December 2008 after the...
in December 2009. There were months of tension and unrest during the electoral process, in which the two main candidates represented the two largest ethnic groups in Guinea: the Fula
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
and the Maninka
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
(Malinke).
Background
The election was originally scheduled to held on 13 December 2009 (with a second round, if necessary, held on 27 December 2009) following the 2008 Guinean coup d'état2008 Guinean coup d'état
The 2008 Guinean coup d'état was a Guinean military coup d'état that occurred in Guinea on 23 December 2008, shortly after the death of long-time President Lansana Conté...
. Civilian and political groups later proposed to hold them in December after legislative elections in October 2009. The government agreed in late March 2009 to set the election date for 13 and 27 December, but it was then again delayed until 31 January 2010.
While junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara
Moussa Dadis Camara
Captain Moussa Dadis Camara now called Moïse Dadis Camara is an ex-officer of the Guinean army who served as the President of the Republic of Guinea's National Council for Democracy and Development , which seized power in a military coup d'état on 23 December 2008 after the...
had initially stated he would not run in the election, he declared on 16 April 2009 that he, like every citizen, had the right to stand in the election. On 10 May 2009, however, he stated again that neither he nor any of the other officers involved would stand in the election. Despite this vow, supporters of Camara held a rally in August 2009 to call for him to take off his uniform and run in the elections. The United States felt that he had to abstain from running to ensure a free and fair election.
After Camara was shot in early December 2009 and Konaté took over as the country's leader, an agreement was reached on 16 January 2010 which stipulated that Camara would remain out of the country (where he had been treated for his gunshot wounds), that a transitional government would be formed and that presidential elections would be held within six months.
The election was seen as a chance to change decades of authoritarian rule following independence, as well as to bring stability and foreign investment. This was also the first democratic election since independence in 1958.
Candidates
Twenty-four candidates were approved to run in the election, among them four former prime ministers. (Cellou Dalein Diallo, François Lonseny Fall, Lansana Kouyaté and Sidya Touré)- Alpha CondéAlpha CondéAlpha Condé is a Guinean politician who has been President of Guinea since December 2010. He was a political science professor at the University of Paris and spent decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea, unsuccessfully running against President Lansana Conté in the 1993 and...
(RPGRally of the Guinean PeopleThe Rally of the Guinean People is a political party in Guinea. The RPG is the current ruling party in the country and is led by Alpha Condé. It is mainly based amongst the Mandinka population....
) - Sidya TouréSidya TouréSidya Touré is a Guinean politician. He was Prime Minister of Guinea from 1996 to 1999 and is currently the President of the Union of Republican Forces , an opposition party.-Prime minister:...
(UFRUnion of Republican ForcesThe Union of Republican Forces is a liberal political party in Guinea.Founded in 1992, the party has been led since 1999 by former Prime Minister of Guinea Sidya Touré. The party supported the Guinea general strike, 2007....
) - Cellou Dalein DialloCellou Dalein DialloCellou Dalein Diallo is a Guinean economist and politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea from 2004 to 2006. Currently he is President of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea , an opposition party....
(UFDGUnion of Democratic Forces of GuineaThe Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea is a political party in Guinea.The party was founded in October 2002 by the section of Union for Progress and Renewal which boycotted that year's parliamentary election. Its first president was Mamadou Ba...
) - Jean Marc Telliano (RDIG)
- François Lounceny Fall (FUDEC)
- Elhadj Mamadou Sylla (UDG)
- Mamadou Diawara (PTS)
- Ibrahima Kassory FofanaIbrahima Kassory FofanaIbrahima Kassory Fofana is a Guinean politician.Originally a civil servant in the Ministry for Co-operation, in 1990 Fofana became the Director for Public Investments. In 1994, he accepted President Lansana Conté offer to become the "Administrator and Controller of Major Works"...
(GPT) - Bouna Keita (RGP)
- Ibrahima Abe Sylla (NGR)
- Boubacar Barry (PNR)
- M'bemba Traoré (PDU)
- Ousmane Kaba (PLUS)
- Abraham Bouré (RGUD)
- Ousmane Bah (UPRUnion for Progress and Renewal (Guinea)The Union for Progress and Renewal is an opposition political party in Guinea. In the parliamentary election held on 30 June 2002, the party won 26.63 % of the popular vote and 20 out of 114 seats. A section of the party boycotted the 2002 election, and it later formed the Union of Democratic...
) - Saran Daraba Kaba (CDP)
- Fodé Mohamed Soumah (GECI)
- Boubacar Bah (ADPG)
- Lansana KouyatéLansana KouyateLansana Kouyaté is a Guinean diplomat and political figure who served as Prime Minister of Guinea from 2007 to 2008.-Background and earlier career:...
(PEDN) - Mamadou Baadiko Bah (UFD)
- Aboubacar SomparéAboubacar SomparéEl Hajj Aboubacar Somparé is a Guinean politician who was President of the National Assembly of Guinea from 2002 to 2008. He was previously Guinea's Ambassador to France from 1978 to 1984 and was Secretary-General of the Unity and Progress Party from 1995 to 2002.-Political career until...
(PUPUnity and Progress PartyThe Unity and Progress Party is a political party in Guinea. It was the ruling party during the long rule of President Lansana Conté.In the parliamentary election held on 30 June, 2002, the party won 61.57 % of the popular vote and 85 out of 114 seats...
) - Papa Koly Kouroumah (RDR)
- Alpha Ibrahima Keïra (PR)
- Joseph Bangoura (UDIG)
Runoff
For the run-off, at least twelve minor candidates (Francois Louceny Fall, Ousmane Kaba, Hadja Saran Daraba Kaba, Jean Marc Teliano, El Hadj Bouna Keita, Mamadou Diawara, Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, El Hadj Mamadou Sylla, Alpha Ibrahima Keira, M'Bemba Traore, Joseph Bangoura and Abraham Boure) voiced their support for Condé over the frontrunner. However, Diallo gained the support of Touré, who came third. Condé then also gained the support of fourth-placed Lansana KouyatéLansana Kouyate
Lansana Kouyaté is a Guinean diplomat and political figure who served as Prime Minister of Guinea from 2007 to 2008.-Background and earlier career:...
.
Controversy
As had been expected by observers, the run-off was delayed from 18 July to a later date. The second round was then set for 14 August 2010. On 9 August, less than a week before the runoff was to take place, the vote was delayed again, to 19 September.On 10 September, the president of the National Independent Electoral Commission (Ceni), Ben Sekou Sylla, and another official were convicted of vote-tampering during the first round of voting. The two were sentenced to "one year in prison and a fine of two million Guinea francs [$350] each for electoral fraud." Sylla died in a Paris hospital on 14 September following a long illness, and the odds of holding the election on time were very low as tensions rose in the country. Boubacar Diallo, the commission's director of planning, said "It is highly improbable that the election will be held this Sunday. It is a purely technical problem."
The Independent National Electoral Commission said a decision to postpone the election between Jean-Marie Dore
Jean-Marie Doré
Jean-Marie Doré is a Guinean politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea from January 2010 to December 2010. Doré, who is the President of the Union for the Progress of Guinea , was an opposition leader for years before being chosen to head a transitional government that was in place during the...
, the interim prime minister, and the two candidates, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé, was made because they needed "two weeks to prepare well." They blamed a lack of necessary voting equipment, saying it could take up to two weeks for arrangements to be in place, and that a new date was yet to be decided. The dates of 10 October, and then 24 October, were proposed for the second round, but on 22 October the vote was put off indefinitely.
Siaka Sangare, the new head of the election commission, set 7 November as the new date for the second round of the election "after wide consultation with the different parties in the transition. It is a date that has been agreed upon, cannot be changed, and, dare I say it, I think will be the last one set for this election that the Guinean people are waiting for so much." He added that the election had previously been postponsed so as to allow political parties to call for calm following violence.
Violence
In the week before the second round of voting, at least 24 people were injured in clashes when supporters of Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé threw rocks at each other after a campaign rally. The incident occurred in several parts of Conakry, marking a sign of escalating tension ahead of the vote. Brawls were also reported near Conde's home, as well as near his Rally of the Guinean People party headquarters in Hamdallaye. The following day rioting continued killing at least one person and injuring 50. 170 people were arrested following clashes between Diallo's supporters and police.Result
The final result of the first round were announced on 20 July 2010 after confirmation by the Supreme Court, which annulled about one-third of the votes originally cast. While differing significantly from the earlier provisional results, they confirmed a runoff between Cellou Dalein DialloCellou Dalein Diallo
Cellou Dalein Diallo is a Guinean economist and politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea from 2004 to 2006. Currently he is President of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea , an opposition party....
and Alpha Condé
Alpha Condé
Alpha Condé is a Guinean politician who has been President of Guinea since December 2010. He was a political science professor at the University of Paris and spent decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea, unsuccessfully running against President Lansana Conté in the 1993 and...
, with Diallo winning 43.69% against Condé's 18.25% and Sidya Touré
Sidya Touré
Sidya Touré is a Guinean politician. He was Prime Minister of Guinea from 1996 to 1999 and is currently the President of the Union of Republican Forces , an opposition party.-Prime minister:...
's 13.02%.
A big turnout was reported for the second round. Early results (from counting in the districts) for the second round indicated a close race, with final results due when all ballots were brought to Conakry for counting. The National Independent Election Commission (CENI) announced the preliminary results on the evening of 15 November, with Condé the winner with 52.52% of the vote on a 67.87% turnout. Earlier in the day, both candidates claimed victory, with Diallo saying that he would not accept the CENI's provisional results until his complaints of election irregularities had been investigated.
Aftermath
After Conde preliminarily declared the winner some members of the Fula ethnic group (which largely backed Diallo) rioted, barricading roads and destroyed homes and businesses of some Malinkes (which tended to back Conde).On November 18, the military declared a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
. Nouhou Thiam, the armed forces chief, read the decree on state television which prohibited civilians from congregating in the streets, while only the military and security personnel would have unrestricted movement. He said the decree would be enforced until the Supreme Court declares certifies final results, which was to occur before November 24.
External links
- Official site of the Commission Electorale Nationale Indépendante (CENI)