[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.

[Guinean news] Presidential election: only for the wealthy

The Burkinabe site Fasozine (via AllAfrica.com) reported that Guinea's National Independent Electoral Commission decided that aspirants for the June 27 presidential election must submit a deposit of 500 million Guinean francs (about US$100,000) to ensure their candidacy.

[Guinea/RCPV news] Guinea RPCV to be on radio show today discussing journalism and democracy

Guinea RPCV Jennifer Swift-Morgan, co-founder of our partner organization Alliance Guinea, will appear on WNYC radio's The Brian Lehrer Show. She will be appearing with Nassirou Diallo, a Guinean journalist who fled the country following last year's massacres. They will appear on the show at around 10:30 am on Wednesday May 12 to discuss the topic of journalism and democracy in Guinea. The show can be listened to live online at WNYC's website or after the fact on demand after the fact here. Diallo will also be a featured speaker this evening at an event at Columbia University; click here for more details.

Democracy and media freedom in Guinea: a discussion in NYC

From Alliance Guinea

Democracy Under Fire:
Freedom of Media in Guinea

When: Wednesday, May 12, 7-9pm
Where: Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Stabile Student Center

Moderator: Milton Allimadi, Publisher & CEO, Black Star News
Featured Speaker: Nassirou Diallo, Le 4ème Pouvoir

Panel discussion and interactive debate to follow.

On September 28, 2009, the military of the West African country of Guinea stormed a stadium filled with tens of thousands of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators and opened fire. In the end over 150 people were killed, 1700 wounded and more than 100 women and girls brutally raped in what a Human Rights Watch and a UN Commission of Inquiry have deemed crimes against humanity.

Journalist Nassirou Diallo was there - covering the events live on the radio before the station owner cut the signal. It wasn't the first time his reporting and political talk shows had put him in danger and the previous threats, arrests, and beatings he and other journalists in Guinea had received from soldiers told him that this last eye witness report would not be tolerated. He left Guinea that night and is now a journalist in exile living in New York City, using new media to continue his work in the run-up to the elections now scheduled for June 27 in Guinea. If held they will be the first democratic presidential elections in the country's history.

Join this talk with a journalist on the frontlines and a lively panel of experts addressing questions of the freedom of media in times of political and social turmoil and the situation in Guinea in particular, the nexus of journalism and activism, and the role of new media in opening the space for expression across borders and diasporas.

The Columbia School of Journalism is located at 2950 Broadway at 116th St., New York, NY, 10027 - see here for directions

Presented by Alliance Guinea in partnership with the Columbia University School of Journalism, the Guinean Forces Vives in the USA, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Columbia University's African Studies Working Group. To RSVP and for more information email allianceguinea@gmail.com or connect on Facebook.

For Black Star New's feature on Nassirou Diallo, "Guinea Frontline Reporter," see http://www.blackstarnews.com/news/135/ARTICLE/6461/2010-04-12.html

Periodic Twitter update

Note: This is a periodic series of blog entries highlighting selected stories from FOG's Twitter feed recently. This is for the benefit of blog readers who do not subscribe to Twitter. However those that are interested are encouraged to subscribe our Twitter feed to get all stories by going to Twitter.com/friendsofguinea and clicking 'follow'.

-Moussa Dadis Camara and the elections in Guinea (via The New Yorker)

- Sierra Leone to host West Africa health confab (via Africanews)

-Voici ce que dit la nouvelle Constitution de la Guinée à adopter! (via Guinéenews)

- Peace Corps Devs Win Web Award for Remix Site (Read Write Web)

- Half of People Killed on Roads are Not in Cars (via VOA Africa)

(National) Peace Corps Association Launches 'Africa Rural Connect' to Help Farmers (via VOA Africa)

Peace Corps Promotes Health via Mobile Phone (via America.gov)