New Date for Guinea’s Presidential Run-Off

Security Council Calls for Setting of New Date for Guinea’s Presidential Run-Off

New York, Sep 17 2010 4:10PM Holding peaceful, free and fair elections is vital to re-establishing constitutional order in Guinea, the Security Council stressed today, voicing regret at the postponement of the presidential run-off and urging that a new date be set quickly.

The second round of Guinea’s presidential polls was originally scheduled for this Sunday, but electoral authorities this week decided to delay the run-off, citing technical reasons.

“The members of the Security Council regretted the postponement of the second round of the presidential elections and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to set a new date and organize it as soon as possible,” Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan of Turkey, which holds the Council presidency this month, said in a statement read out to the press.

They stressed the importance of ensuring “a peaceful, free and fair electoral process in Guinea, the only way to re-establish the constitutional and democratic order.”

The statement followed a closed-door meeting of the Council on the latest developments in Guinea, where violent clashes last weekend in the capital, Conakry, claimed at least one life and injured dozens of others.

In addition, the head of Guinea’s electoral commission reportedly died overnight on Monday, a week after being convicted of falsifying results in the first round of the presidential ballot held in June, in which Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde scored the highest number of votes among the 24 candidates who entered the race.

Council members expressed their deep concern at last weekend’s clashes and called on the Guinean authorities to promote a calm and peaceful electoral environment.

They also urged the supporters of the two presidential candidates to refrain from any provocation, incitement to hatred or recourse to violence.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, has been consulting with key stakeholders in Guinea, including the two candidates, members of the Government, electoral authorities and the UN Country Team in an effort to help resolve the current crisis.

Mr. Ban, in a statement issued yesterday, called on authorities in Guinea to swiftly resolve all technical and logistical obstacles to holding the run-off, adding that this is vital “to create the conditions necessary for the holding of transparent and credible elections as soon as possible.”

ENDS

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