Guinea: Second Round Boycott avoided

By on November 4, 2010

Special polling stations will be constructed in Guinea to enable all the persons displaced by the recent violence to vote for the second round on next Sunday.

The head of the electoral commission said that all displaced persons would be able to vote, if their names are provided and appear on the electoral roll lists. The candidates had threatened to boycott if the matter was not resolved. The political battles and street violence have justified the postponements of the second round. The tension between the candidates’ supporters has its basis in the rivalry between the two largest ethnic communities in Guinea. Mr. Diallo is Fulani, while Mr. Condé is a Malinké. And despite their economic dominance, the Fulani have never been able to have a member of their community as president, while the Malinké are strongly represented in the ruling military junta. Thousands of people fled their homes after the fighting last month between supporters of both candidates, resulting in an impasse on how those who had fled would vote, and raising serious fears of a fourth posponement. But two candidates’ spokesmen assured they were satisfied with the assurances given by the new head of the electoral commission.

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