(2 minutes read)
· Guinea’s electoral authorities warned by the International
Association of French (OIF)-speaking countries over the credibility of
the electoral register prepared for the country’s upcoming polls.
· The OIF is the francophone equivalent of the Commonwealth and has a strong membership from the erstwhile French colonies.
Guinea’s electoral authorities warned by the International Association
of French-speaking countries over the credibility of the electoral
register prepared for the country’s upcoming polls.
The warning came six days before elections were condemned by the
opposition parties as a ploy by President Alpha Conde to stay in
power. The warning was issued by the International Organisation of
La Francophonie (OIF). According to OIF, the register included nearly
2.49 million fictitious names including duplicate names, people who
were too young to vote or individuals who died. Of these 2.49 million
fictitious voters, 98 percent do not have right documents to prove
their voting rights, says OIF
The OIF is the francophone equivalent of the Commonwealth and has a
strong membership from the erstwhile French colonies. It urged the
government to take steps for avoiding violence, which already had
taken a heavy toll on human lives. Any escalation of violence, OIF
said would accelerate human misery and deprivation. Guinea will go to
polls on this coming Sunday, which will have two components, a
referendum and in legislative elections. The referendum is for the
constitution amendment, which the opposition claim is a ploy by Conde,
(81), to get another term in office and to stay in power beyond two
terms. In 2018, the OIF, together with the UN and European Union had
done a scrutiny of Guinea’s 2015 electoral rolls and uncovered 2.49
million questionable names. These are still on the electoral
database, said the OIF, which is responsible for implementing the
recommendations..
Constitutional reforms had evoked severe unrest in the country. At
least 30 people had lost their lives. Fresh clashes broke out in the
central town of Mamou recently. Conde became Guinea’s first
democratically elected president in 2010, after he returned from exile
and won the elections in 2015 for his second and final five-year term
under the current constitution. His critics say he has become
authoritarian. Earlier this month he left the door open to running for
a third term by amending the constitution. Recently, Togo also had
undergone such a political process, wherein the present incumbent got
a chance for continuing in office for two more terms of five year
each, which he had already served three terms.
