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Election Observers Call on Guinea Presidential Candidates to Accept Results

   Scott Stearns | Conakry 09 November 2010
   Guinean  election officials tabulate some election results at Matoto's
   city hall in Conakry, Guinea, 09 Nov 2010

Photo: AP

   Guinean  election officials tabulate some election results at Matoto's
   city hall in Conakry, Guinea, 09 Nov 2010

   As voters in Guinea await the results of Sunday's presidential ballot,
   election  observers  are  calling  on  both  candidates  to accept the
   results and avoid further violence.

   Guinea's  electoral  commission is not legally required to release the
   final  results  of  the vote until Wednesday. But with concerns rising
   that  the  commission  might  miss  the  deadline because of delays in
   collecting  rural votes, election observers say the longer it takes to
   announce  the results, the greater the chance that rumors will inflame
   ethnic tensions.

   Former  prime  minister  Cellou Diallo and long-time opposition leader
   Alpha  Conde are from Guinea's two largest ethnic groups. Pre-election
   violence  among  their  supporters delayed the vote several times. And
   security  forces  have  been on alert since Sunday's ballot in case of
   further clashes.

   Former  Nigerian  leader Yakubu Gowon is an election observer. He says
   Diallo  and  Conde  supporters  must  not  turn  to  violence, if they
   disagree with the outcome.

   "Both   candidates   and  their  supporters  should  adhere  to  their
   commitment  to  a  peaceful transition of power, utilizing appropriate
   legal challenges for the filing of any complaints," said Gowon.

   Gowon  is leading an observer mission for the U.S.-based Carter Center
   along  with  the  group's  vice  president  for  peace  programs, John
   Stremlau.  Diallo  and  Conde  have  pledged  to  accept  the results.
   Stremlau says they must not be allowed to back away from that promise.

   "We  want  to  hold  the  candidates  to their words. This has been an
   intense  campaign,  and  it  should  be an intense campaign," he said.
   "[U.S.]  President  [Jimmy] Carter fought a very strenuous campaign on
   two  occasions  [for  U.S. president]. He won in the first race and he
   lost  in  the second. And like General Gowon, he has gone on to a life
   of  great  humanitarian service. He would be the first to say there is
   life  after  politics. These two experienced politicians have given us
   their  word that they will accept the results, and we should hold them
   to that."

   The  Carter Center's preliminary report on the conduct of the election
   says turn out was high and that despite some logistic obstacles, there
   were  no  major  incidents.  The  vote  is  meant  to return Guinea to
   civilian rule nearly two years after soldiers took power here.

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