UN Secretary-General welcomes results of presidential election in Guinea

[News_Editor]

UN Secretary-General welcomes results of presidential election in Guinea

2010-12-04 02:25:26 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday welcomed the certification of the results of Guinea's presidential elections that resulted in the victory of opposition candidate Alpha Conde.

Ban congratulated Conde and encouraged him to work to consolidate and promote national unity. The UN head also urged Guinean people to accept the outcome and to move towards peace and national reconciliation.

Guinea’s Supreme Court certified the results of the run-off poll that were held on November 7 between Conde and former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo. The first round was held in June but did not result in a winner.

After the results’ announcement, violence erupted in the West African country as supporters of Diallo went to the streets to protest against the results which Diallo said were marred with a massive voting fraud and accused Guinea police forces of savage brutality.

During the riots, two individuals were killed and dozens more were injured. The Secretary-General deplored the incidents of violence and violations of human rights that followed the release of the provisional results.

Provisional results, released on November 15, initially indicated that Diallo was on the lead with a narrow difference. However, after all votes were counted, opposition candidate Condé finished ahead of former Prime Minister.

"He emphasizes the need to respect international human rights standards and calls on the security forces to ensure the protection of all Guineans. He warns those who may incite or perpetrate violence that they will be held accountable," said Martin Nesirky, spokesman for Ban.

The presidential elections were seen as Guinea's first democratic vote since independence in 1958, raising hopes of an end to military and authoritarian rule in the mineral-rich country that was established after the death of long-time leader Lansana Conte in December 2008.

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