Fraud allegations surround Guinea's first free presidential election

[News_Editor]

Fraud allegations surround Guinea's first free presidential election

2010-11-12 21:43:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

CONAKRY, GUINEA (BNO NEWS) -- As fraud allegations surround the Guinea elections, the country's voters will have to wait a few more days until the results are officials announced, officials Friday.

The original schedule had the national electoral commission deliver the announcement on Wednesday, but complaints and challenges in different part of Guinea are being reviewed. The results of the first freely elected president in the country could be released until Saturday or Sunday, Gen. Siaka Toumani Sangare, who heads the West African republic's Independent National Electoral Commission said.

The two main candidates are former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo and longtime opposition leader Alpha Conde.

Analysts and observers have expressed concern as pre-election violence killed at least 3 people and displaced around 2,800 ethnic Peul. The results of the presidential elections could help certain ethnic groups have access to the country's future mining contracts since previous presidents have shown to favor their own ethnic groups.

According to reports, many of the displaced were threatened with death and forced to leave before the elections were carried out.

A number of Guineans voted along ethnic and regional lines, with the ethnic Peul, also known as Fulani, supporting the Peul candidate, Diallo, and the Malinke strongly favoring heir candidate, Alpha Conde

On Wednesday, partial election figures revealed Diallo was ahead of Conde, holding nearly 60 percent of the 1.2 million ballots counted. However, around 3 million ballots remain uncounted.

Although Diallo won nearly 44 percent of the first round poll, many consider the numbers to be inaccurate because the Supreme Court annulled over 600,000 ballots.

"You know, when you are falling you must say that this is the reason why you fell. ... When you fought so hard and you end up not getting what you want, of course you will find a reason," Moustapha Naite, a spokesman for Conde's RPG party, told CNN.

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