The Guinea Conakry opposition-government stand-off over elections demands pacification for the mineral-rich country to avoid calamity.

The government of Alpha Conde in Guinea Conakry is into verbal and physical battles with the opposition over election matters, trading accusations and counter-accusations on what each party believes is the other’s responsibility for the poor political climate in the mineral-rich West African country.

While the opposition castigates the government of what it terms “electoral dark arts” the government on its part accuses the opposition of spoiling for a coup. In either ways, the political climate in the country is not the best and pacification is therefore imperative if acceptably elections must be organized to pre-empt looming calamity.

Provocation

With elections still to hold, apologists of the regime across the capital Conakry are said to be boasting of victory for the nation’s incumbent leader months before the presidential campaign even begins. They wave banners saying “Re-election of Alpha Conde in the First Round.” The opposition, convinced of having been robbed in previous polls and provoked by this triumphalism, angrily points out that no regional elections have been held in 10 years and accuses Conde of filling local administrations with unelected cronies who will help him rig October’s 2015 presidential polls.  “For the moment we are in the street, we are getting our activists out into the street and we will keep doing so as many times as is necessary,” former Prime Minister, Sidya Toure, who is now President of the Union of Republican Forces, said.

Revision of Electoral Timetable

Guinea’s opposition is campaigning for a revision of an election timetable that they say stacks the odds in the regime’s favour by delaying regional elections until after the presidential vote. The trigger for the opposition’s massive protests came at the end of March 2015 with the publication of the electoral calendar. The independent electoral commission (CENI) had announced on 10 March, 2015 that the presidential election should take place in October 2015, but that communal elections, contrary to previous assurances, would only be held in early 2016. This is contrary to the opposition wishes.

Amid fears of electoral violence and accusations of a flawed process, are calling for local elections to precede the presidential ballot. The opposition’s quarrel is with the order of the two elections. They are convinced that the local authorities, whose mandate formally expired in 2010, are completely under the president’s control. The opposition holds that the local officials, some of whom have been replaced by administrative appointees in constituencies where the opposition has weight, are said to have been responsible for a variety of disenfranchisement schemes in pro-opposition areas during the 2013 legislative elections. They have also been accused of massaging the vote in pro-government areas.  And so, there are fears of a repeat in the presidential contest unless earlier local polls give them a better chance to get fair play.