Guinea poll went well despite hitches, observers say

CONAKRY, Monday

Guinea’s first free election since independence in 1958 was hit by some technical problems but appeared to have gone off smoothly, international observers said today.

Traffic started to roll and shops re-opened in the capital Conakry after a shut-down during the voting on Sunday, which saw Guineans flock to polling booths from before dawn to produce a turnout of up to 80 percent.

“People are almost pinching themselves that it’s gone so well so far,” said a Western diplomat in Conakry of a poll that could help trigger more investment in the West African mining giant and unlock aid needed to rebuild an economy shattered by decades of graft and strong-arm misrule.

Residents complied with a ban on large gatherings on polling day, and no trouble was reported overnight.

The 24 candidates and their supporters are waiting for preliminary results from the election commission, expected by Wednesday. With such a large number of candidates, the first round of voting is unlikely to produce a winner and a run-off, pencilled in for July 18, will probably be necessary.

Observers from the European Union, African Union, regional group ECOWAS and the US-based Carter Center said they would publish their initial reports in the next few days.

But immediate impressions of the poll have been generally positive, despite some technical hitches. The United States on Sunday hailed the poll’s conduct and the Carter Centre estimated a turnout of 75-80 per cent.

“There were of course some serious technical problems in polling stations, especially in the north,” said Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, head of the EU observer mission.

“(But) the Guinean people have taken this opportunity to chose the future of the country by choosing their leader in a free and fair manner and we will see what happens in the coming days,” he told French radio RFI.

Mr Lambsdorff said some people went to vote in northern areas only to discover their names were not on voter lists, but stressed it was too early to say whether the problems would have an impact on the credibility of the poll.

“I will not speculate. For now, it has been an excellent day for Guinea,” he said.

Sunday’s poll was the first free race for the presidency since independence from France in 1958. The country is the world’s No.1 exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite, and international mining firms are keen to tap into its iron ore reserves.

But it has been gripped by political instability before and after the death of veteran ruler Lansana Conte in late 2008.

Only last September an army crackdown on pro-democracy marchers resulted in more than 150 deaths and took Guinea close to civil war. Weeks later, junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara was wounded in an assassination attempt and his Western-backed successor pledged to hand back rule to civilians.

A successful poll would be a bonus for West Africa, where a series of coups, and questionable or delayed elections, have dented the region’s efforts to establish peace and democracy.

Whoever wins Guinea’s presidential election faces a huge task rebuilding the West African country’s shattered institutions, basic services and economy, the top UN official in the region said.

But the capital city’s infrastructure is shambolic and much of the population is without reliable electricity or clean running water, so the risk is that the euphoria could give way to disappointment if change does not come quickly.

“The challenges are enormous,” Mr Said Djinnit, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special representative for West Africa, told Reuters.

The state’s ability to provide services to its population has been crippled by decades of repressive, undemocratic rule first by Sekou Toure, then by Lansana Conte, whose death in 2008 created a power vacuum the army filled, and most recently by a chaotic 18 months under the erratic Captain Moussa Dadis Camara.

“The real transition will start after the president has been elected fairly, by the will of the people,” Djinnit said. (Reuters)