Guinea’s President Alpha Conde has called off Sunday’s parliamentary election and constitutional referendum as concerns grow over the credibility of the electoral roll for the process.
President Conde said he had postponed the process over to seek clarity on claims of the inclusion of two million suspected FAKE voters on the electoral list.
The Guinean leader said he has informed ECOWAS and the African Union about the votes taking place in two weeks.
“It is out of national and sub-regional responsibility that we accepted a slight postponement of the election date,” Condé said on national television.
He explained that “We must always remain within the framework of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and the African Union”.
“This is neither a capitulation nor a retreat,” Mr Condé said as he assured that “the people of Guinea will freely express their choice through the referendum and freely choose their deputies.”
Prior to this latest postponement, the African Union recalled its team to observe the process.
In a statement, the African Union said it recalled its observers due to “recent pre-electoral developments” in Guinea.
President Alpha Conde has come under intense pressure since last year when reports emerged that he could seek a third term in office.
The referendum intends changing the country’s constitutional to possibly prolong Conde’s stay in power.
The opposition has opposed the intended referendum, triggering several protests that have ended deadly in some instances.
Guinea’s opposition has said it will boycott Sunday’s referendum with Sidya Touré, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea party saying “There will be no election or referendum.”
The country also announced that it would hold legislative elections originally scheduled for February 16 on March 1.
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) earlier said it would not deploy vote observers “because the situation is not free of all risk.”
Alpha Conde is 81 years of age and is due to end his second and final five-year term next year.
He became Guinea’s first democratically-elected leader in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.
But he has not ruled out running again. Conde has however asked his government to look into drafting a new constitution.
He has said that there was the need to overhaul the constitution to take address pressing social issues, such as banning female genital mutilation.
Source: Africafeeds.com
