Call for calm over Guinea election results

An International Criminal Court prosecutor urged military bosses and political parties in Guinea to refrain from violence after results of the tense presidential election are announced.

The the country’s first democratic election is pitting candidates from the nation’s two largest ethnic groups and international observers fear it could degenerate into sectarian violence once one candidate is declared the winner.

The publication of results have been delayed as the election commission attempts to deal with the sensitivity of the ballot and attempts by both candidates to invalidate precincts where they claim there is evidence of fraud.

Assistant prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the ICC was concerned that there could be a repeat of Kenya’s 2007 election, where hundreds were killed.

Guinea is considered especially fragile because the country is still reeling from an army-led massacre of protesters last year who had gathered to demand an end to military rule.

Ms Bensouda said she had met candidates Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde who she said had assured her that they would not incite their supporters to violence.

She also said she met and was reassured by the head of the armed forces and the general who agreed to hand over power to civilians following last year’s atrocities.

Guinea has been ruled by military strongmen for the past 26 years and many fear that the army – which is dominated by the Malinke, the ethnicity of Conde - could try to take back power in another coup if it does not agree with the outcome of the vote.

Partial results released last night indicated a tight race with Mr Diallo leading by a whisker. Only 50,000 votes separate the two candidates after 1.4 million ballots had been counted – around half of the electorate.

“The country is going through a crucial transition,” Ms Bensouda said. “But as we have seen over the past two weeks, it could generate violence ... I repeat: we do not want a similar scenario (to Kenya) in Guinea ... The end of impunity needs to mark this new page of Guinea’s history.”

Both candidates have accused the other side of fraud, even though international observers have so far said the poll appeared to be transparent overall.

National Independent Electoral Commission president Siaka Toumani Sangare said he expected final results to be out before Monday and said that the commission has received around 30 complaints regarding individual precincts.