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President Condé’s promise of transparent dialogue in preparing the legislative elections is essential for 2012
Happy New Year 2012 to all Alliance Guinea members and supporters of democracy and justice in Guinea!
This year, one of our top priorities as an organization is to promote the speedy and transparent organization of legislative elections with broad participation of all the parties, civil society and international observers. This would meet a promise that President Condé made upon his inauguration over one year ago.
However, progress has been slow. At an “inclusive dialogue” meeting this week, President Condé promised to listen to opposition groups and civil society organizations when setting the date for now postponed legislative elections. Alliance welcomes this sign of inclusivity, but we are worried the process could stall. After his visit late this week, former Senegalese President and Secretary General of the OIF Abdou Diouf expressed his deep worry about the political dialogue. We can’t help but agree, and wonder what is the ideal role for civil society?
What can we do to continue pushing it forward? We are calling on Alliance members to propose actions in Guinea and in the international community to ensure a participatory, transparent and democratic elections.
The past two years have been a series of ups and downs in Guinea’s push towards democracy. In November 2010, after 50 years of military rule, Guinea held its first open and transparent Presidential elections. President Condé promised to hold legislative elections within the next year. After not setting a date for a majority of the year, the date was set in the late fall for December 29, 2011. The short notice drew criticism from opposition and members of civil society, who accused the President and the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) of not allowing opposition enough time to prepare for the elections. President Condé met with opposition leaders at the end of November, and the legislative election date was postponed.
We’re calling on the Guinean government to set a new date as soon as possible. The CENI recently promised to include the opposition when choosing a new date for the first elections since 2002.
The challenges for the coming year are steep, but can be overcome with your help. Candidates will need to avoid playing on the ethnic tensions that could compromise peace and stability in the country. Engaging Guinea’s youth will also be important; earlier this year young members from 29 political parties gathered in Conakry and pledged for peaceful participation in the upcoming election. Violence in general will be a concern. It has been two years since the massacres of September 2009, and Guineans are still in search of justice. Proving to Guineans that the military is accountable will be essential, and Guinea’s recent downsizing of the military was a positive step forward. Human Rights Watch released a statement on the one year anniversary of President Condé’s term in office, highlighting the upcoming elections, the manipulation of the judiciary system, and conduct of the security forces as major concerns.
Holding free, fair and open legislative elections will be an incredible step forward in establishing representative institutions that are the foundations of a stable democracy. The precedent has been set; the Presidential elections in November of 2010 were largely ruled as free and fair. It is now the responsibility of President Condé, the CENI, and opposition parties to allow and promote peaceful and open dialogue so that Guinea can move forward in its pursuit of democracy.
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