Articles in English

Guinea prime minister denies bias ahead of vote

23/08/2010 | Administrator

CONAKRY, Guinea — Guinea's interim prime minister says he doesn't favor one candidate over the other in next month's historic presidential runoff election.

Jean-Marie Dore said Sunday that he considers both of the candidates his friends.

His comments come after front-runner candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo said he believed Dore's interim government wants to alter the runoff's outcome.

Diallo, who clinched 44 percent of the vote in the first round, is squaring off against Alpha Conde, who received around 20 percent and is believed to have Dore's backing.

The West African country recently survived t [ ... ]

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Guinea proposes electoral law change before vote

21/08/2010 | Administrator

CONAKRY, Guinea — Guinea's interim government wants to change the electoral code in a way that would give the government access to completed ballots, according to documents given to The Associated Press, a move that is fueling accusations of manipulation before next month's historic election.

A draft of the proposed ordinance given Wednesday to the Associated Press gives logistical control of the Sept. 19 presidential run-off to a department supervised by Jean-Marie Dore, the interim prime minister who is believed to be backing the race's underdog. The department's duties would include transp [ ... ]

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Moving On to the Second Round Election

19/08/2010 | Administrator

It's now official, the second round election for President of the Republic of Guinea will be held on September 19, 2010. The announcement comes as great news for the country and for proponents of democracy in Africa. Overall, there is good reason to be optimistic about Guinea's democratic transition and the important role that military leaders, politicians, political parties and civil society have played to get this far in the process.

It is expected that the race between the two final candidates, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé, will mirror the first round of votes by being relatively fr [ ... ]

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Liberian, Sierra Leonean presidents visit Guinea to support democratic process

19/08/2010 | Administrator

The presidents of neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone paid a working visit to Guinea on Tuesday, voicing support for the West African country's ongoing democratic process.

"We are come to reassure the Guinean authorities and encourage them of our support for the process of democracy going on in Guinea, about which we cannot sit idle," Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma told reporters upon his arrival.

Koroma expected the process to go on "in the best conditions."

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said her visit was within the framework of "regular consultations" between the member [ ... ]

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Alpha Condé and his supporters

14/08/2010 | Administrator

A dozen of the first round candidates have rallied Alpha Condé, the candidate of the Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG). They are calling their sympathisers to vote for the RPG runner. For the president of the Pan-African Democratic Convention party (COP), Hadjia Daraba Saran Kaba, the only woman candidate in the election, the RPG has for long been enshrined in the framework of the national reconciliation, and truly embodies the idea of change always advocated by the people. "We believe that within the current divisions, confusion and suspicion, and given its social program that takes into a [ ... ]

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Guinea Run-Off Set For September

11/08/2010 | Administrator

Guinean authorities announced Monday that the second round of its landmark presidential poll will take place September 19. The run-off vote is meant to return the country to civilian rule after a military coup in December 2008. The first round of voting took place June 27. A run-off between the two top-scoring candidates originally was set for July 18, but many first-round candidates contested provisional results. It was only on July 20 that the Supreme Court overruled those challenges and announced official results.

In the run-off, former prime minist [ ... ]

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Guinea's presidential candidates satisfied with poll date

11/08/2010 | Administrator

CONAKRY — The two parties in Guinea whose candidates will face off in the second round of a presidential election expressed satisfaction Tuesday at the announcement of a date, September 19.

"Our wish was that the poll be held as soon as possible. Now we have a date, it's good, indeed very good. Everyone is ready, our combat is to win this election in incontestable fashion," said former prime minister Cellou Diallo Diallo, candidate of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG).

"We have the means and the militants to attain our end. I thank all those involved in the transition who have br [ ... ]

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Guinea ex-PM throws behind Conde in presidential run-off

06/08/2010 | Administrator

Guinea's former prime minister Lansana Kouyate has decided to throw behind Alpha Conde, the candidate of the Rally of Guinean People (RPG), in the future presidential run-off, according to a statement released by the party.

The two leaders signed a protocol on the cooperation in the second round of the presidential election, whose date has yet to be unveiled, the statement said on Monday.

A dozen other candidates loosing the first round on June 27 had previously formed an alliance to support Conde in the run-off against Cellou Dalein Diallo, the front runner and the candidate of the Union of Dem [ ... ]

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