[Guinean news] Families of massacre victims banned from gathering

Today, the families of the 157 people killed in Conakry’s 28 September Stadium were banned from gathering or approaching the venue to mark the first anniversary of the massacre.

In a statement read Tuesday on state TV, the Minister of Religious Affairs Mustapha Koutoubou Sanoh asked the families of the victims to mark the date by praying for their loved one at the nearest mosque or church. Implicit in his instructions was the fact that families would not be allowed to march to the stadium, or enter it to place flowers as they had planned, reports the Associated Press.

Military trucks blocked entrances to the stadium and were also stationed at key intersections, the wire service added.

Voice of America noted that a foundation has been set up to keep alive the memory of the victims and to push for accountability for the peretrators.

For its part, Human Rights Watch called for the implementation of long-delayed justice for the stadium massacre.

Additionally, NGOs called for sweeping reforms of the Guinean military.

Meanwhile, there may be another delay in the presidential runoff, now proposed for October 10.

[Guinean news] Oct. 10 proposed as new poll date

Guinea's Independent National Electoral Commission has proposed October 10 as the date for the long delayed presidential election runoff.

[Guinean news] Suspicious fire at elections HQ

The website Portail des élections d'Afrique reports that there was a fire at the Almamy Samory Touré military camp in Conakry, which is the central location for housing ballot papers and other electoral materials. The website reports that the fire happened in 'mysterious circumstances' but noted that further information has been hard to come by.

[Guinean news] Guinea runoff postponed indefinitely following violence

The Guinean state broadcaster RTG has announced that the second round of the presidential election has been postponed. Junta leader Gen. Sékouba Konaté has pushed back the Sept. 19 runoff ‘indefinitely,’ according to Guinéenews. The BBC World Service radio speculated that the delay might be for two weeks.

The postponement followed weekend clashes between supporters of former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo and Prof. Alpha Condé, which left one dead and 50 injured. In a speech to the nation, Gen. Konaté also urged the rival candidates to keep their partisans under control.

The World Service also reported on logistical problems. The Independent National Electoral Commission noted that it was missing some 460,000 voting cards due to arrive from South Africa on Sunday night, the evening of the originally scheduled runoff.

[Guinean news] Second round set for September 19

The ruling military junta has confirmed that the second round of Guinea's presidential election is scheduled for September 19. It will involve former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo and longtime opposition leader Alpha Condé, who received 43.7% and 18.3% of the vote respectively in the first round.

[Guinean news] Poll date still unconfirmed

It is still unclear when the second round of Guinea's presidential election will take place. The runoff was supposed to be held on July 18 however it was delayed while the Supreme Court ruled on claims of voting irregularities. Prime Minister Jean-Marie Dore proposed August 22 for the runoff, which was seconded by Cellou Dalein Diallo, the leading vote getter in the first round. However, it is not certain when the poll will be scheduled. Diallo will face off against long time opposition leader Alpha Conde.

[Guinean news] Losing candidates cry foul; Konaté threatens to resign

Conduct of the first round of presidential elections were generally praised by the international community, including ECOWAS and the United States.

However, the Carter Center did cite concerns, including: 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.

The top two finishers will contest a run off: former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo and longtime opposition leader Alpha Condé. The second round was originally scheduled for July 18 but reports have suggested that it will not take place on that date, since the Constitutional Court will not rule on the validity of the first round results until July 13.

The interim government banned public demonstrations following the first round and broke up with tear gas a march held in defiance of the ban.

Several opposition candidates complained about electoral irregularities, most vehemently the UFR's candidate Sidya Touré. Touré, another former prime minister, finished third in the first round, about 5 percentage points behind Condé.

Touré attacked the president of the transition Gen. Sékouba Konaté as well as the French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner.

The acting head of state Gen. Konaté responded angrily to the 'offensive' questioning of his neutrality and set off a mini-crisis when he threatened to resign. However, he appears to have been dissuaded from this course of action by Senegal's leader Abdoulaye Wade and African Union chief Jean Ping.

[Guinean news] Dalien and Condé to contest presidential runoff

Guinéenews and several other media outlets are reporting that the results of the first round of Guinea's presidential vote have been announced by the country's Independent Electoral Commission. The two highest vote getters were former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, with nearly 40 pct. of the vote, and longtime opposition leader Alpha Condé, with a little over 20 pct. of the vote. Another former prime minister, Sidya Touré, was in third with 15.6 pct. The runoff between Dalien and Condé, expected to be confirmed by the Supreme Court, is presently scheduled for July 18, but the AP is reporting that the date may be pushed back until later in the month.

[Guinean news] You can be a monitor for Guinea's election... without leaving your home

Our colleagues at Alliance Guinea have launched a 'high-tech election monitoring system' in support of this Sunday's presidential election in the country.

The system, GV10 Witness (or GV10 Temoin, in French), will allow Guineans on the ground to report violence, threats of violence, fraud and other serious incidents via SMS, email and Twitter.

The messages will then be posted to the website www.GV10Temoin.org on a map of Guinea, organized by incident location and type of incident or report. People monitoring the elections – whether election administrators and observers, international media, civil society organizations or the general public – will then be able to follow developments on the site or through email updates.

This effort will require volunteers to process the information. If you'd like to help, please click here for more information.

[Guinean news] Less than a week until historic elections

Campaigning and preparations in Guinea are well underway for the June 27 poll, expected to be the first ever free and democratic elections in the country's history. Some 24 candidates are contesting the presidential election, none soldiers.

The US NGO the Carter Center has sent a delegation to monitor the vote and has described the campaign as 'positive.' The African Union has also praised preparations.

The Economist had a profile of the head of state Gen. Sekouba Konate and his efforts to ensure that both the elections and the future civilian administration remain free of military meddling. Additionally, the army chief of staff Col. Nouhou Thiam warned that there would be no immunity for soldiers involved in the Sept. 28, 2009 massacre.

However, Foreign Policy warns that challenges remain beyond the formal election. It published an article on 'Guinea's economic junta' which noted that the army's domination of lucrative mineral contracts won't end with the ascension of a democratic head of state.