Guinea holds first free election since independence

Guinea is holding its first free election today since independence more than half a century ago - a vote many hope will finally end decades of harsh military rule and launch a new democratic era.

On the eve of the ballot, the country's powerful junta leader vowed to ensure fairness and transparency, and warned a roomful of presidential hopefuls they must help avert violence or risk casting the West African nation back to its volatile past.

"We can no longer continue to live like we are in a jungle, as if we are in a state without authority," General Sekouba Konate told 24 candidates in the presidential palace. "Too many Guineans have perished and suffered."

"Starting from now, it's up to you to make it happen," he said. The choice, he added, is between "peace, freedom and democracy, or chaos and instability."

Konate, along with all members of his junta and a transitional governing council comprised of civilians are barred from running in the vote, which many hope will go down in history as the nation's first truly democratic poll since independence from France in 1958.

The ballot marks a spectacular turnaround for a country that just months ago was terrorised by an army that rampaged through the capital with impunity - courtesy of Moussa "Dadis" Camara, an erratic army captain who seized power in a December 2008 coup hours after the nation's previous despot, Lansana Conte, died.

When opposition leaders rallied at a Conakry stadium last September to insist Camara step down, the military opened fire into the crowd, massacring more than 150 people, wounding more than 1,000 and raping countless women.

A UN investigation into the tragedy fuelled tensions within the junta over who would take the blame, and Camara was shot in the head by his presidential guard chief and ultimately removed from the political stage.

Although Camara survived, he remains in Burkina Faso as part of a January peace deal meant to allow the country to hold the crucial ballot without him.

Among the top contenders in the vote are two ex-premiers, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Sidya Toure, and a long-time government opponent, Alpha Conde.

Preliminary results are due 72 hours after polls close. If no candidate wins a simple majority, a runoff between the top two finishers is due July 18.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Guinea authorities to ensure "peaceful and credible polls" and form "a government that fully reflects the will of Guineans."