Guinea is preparing for its second presidential election since returning to democracy in 2010. But a survey shows many are distrustful of the election authorities. Incumbent leader Alpha Conde is seeking a second term in Sunday’s election. His main challenger is former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, who ran against Conde in the 2010 vote and lost. During his 2010 campaign, Diallo accused Guinea’s election authority, the National Independent Electoral Commission, of bias. A new survey from research firm Afrobarometer shows that suspicion has lived on.
Twenty-eight percent of Guineans surveyed said they did not trust the CENI, as the commission is known. About 34 percent said they had “a lot” of trust, with the rest of respondents falling somewhere in between.
Senior analyst Vincent Foucher of the International Crisis Group says the lack of trust in the CENI could lead to an election dispute. “The side that loses, basically, will not trust the results,” he said.
Conde took office in 2010, promising change in a country that has gone through decades of often-brutal dictatorship and where the World Bank says more than half of the population lives in poverty.
Full Article: Distrust High as Guinea Prepares for Presidential Poll.
