Guinea Awaits Results After Historic Election

On Sunday, June 27th the people of Guinea did something they had never done before in their country’s 52-year history: go to the polls to elect a president in multi-party elections. An estimated 80% of registered voters turned out, with turnout being particularly high among women. Given that just seven months ago many analysts were speculating that the country was on its way to becoming a military dictatorship and that free, fair and open elections are milestones in even stable societies, this was a historic turning point for Guinea.

Guinea was able to hold these elections and start its way back to civilian rule and stability through a combination of factors that the international community rarely sees:

• a strong and surprisingly vibrant local civil society;
• concerted international diplomacy efforts based on the complimenting foreign policies of some of the most powerful countries in the world;
• a failed assassination attempt that drastically shifted the military-led government’s power;
• local leaders that wanted a change in national governance; and
• the support of regional groups, international non-governmental organizations and multilateral organizations.

BEFORE and its partners prepared for the elections through a multifaceted approach that included programs targeting reconciliation among military and civilian women, the training of local citizens to be elections mediators, the revival of traditional local and regional conflict resolution bodies, and the examination of key segments of the government, such as the Supreme Court, the security sector and the National Assembly.

Post-Elections Observations and Results
The International Foundation for Electoral Services (IFES), BEFORE’s primary partner in Guinea, noted that the elections went well as most polling station staff tried to conduct themselves in a transparent manner, even if they were not familiar with elections procedures or materials at time, and despite the fact that some voters were confused about where their polling stations were located and how to mark their ballot correctly. All major observation teams, including the African Union, the European Union and the Carter Center, also praised the election, especially given the circumstances of the tight elections preparation time frame. Most observers cited irregularities that mostly had to do with a lack of training on the part of poll workers, logistical challenges and the need for further voter education — not intentional elections fraud.

After accusations of elections fraud and legitimate logistical delays, such as difficulties in elections worker training and in tabulating ballots, the Guinea Independent Commission for National Elections (CENI) requested, and was granted by the Supreme Court, another 48 hours to count the votes accurately.

Moving Forward
The BEFORE Project would like to congratulate Guineans for the peaceful exercising of their political voices, despite the challenges they faced and commend the Interim President of Guinea, General Sékou Konaté, Interim Prime Minister Jean-Marie Doré, and all the members of the Interim National Unity Government. BEFORE looks forward to continuing its support of the consolidation of peace in Guinea.

To learn more about the work of BEFORE and its partners in Guinea or to support Guinea in this time of transition, please take action today.