Conakry, GUINEA
The opposition in the West
African state of Guinea vowed Monday to boycott legislative elections set for
February 16 and “prevent” them from taking place, in a dispute focussed on the
country’s electoral roll.
“We have decided we cannot take part,” opposition
Chief Cellou Dalein Diallo said after meeting with the heads of around 20
opposition groups.
“It’s not just a question of boycotting the elections and standing idly by. We will prevent these elections
from taking place,” he said.
Diallo charged that there had been
“massive inclusion of minors” on the electoral lists, while people who had the
right to vote had been blocked.
“We cannot accept having an
election based on this electoral roll,” Diallo said.
Fellow opposition leader Etienne Soropogui,
said: “We took an important decision today, which consists of no longer
(running against President) Alpha Conde so long as we do not have the conditions for free and
transparent elections.”
Guinea has been wracked by rolling
demonstrations sparked by concerns that Conde, 81, plans to stay in office
beyond the two legally mandated two terms.
Conde has not yet confirmed whether
he plans to run again.
But his announcement last week of a
new draft constitution sparked a fresh wave of accusations that he was scheming
to extend his rule.
A nationwide protest is set for
Friday.
About 20 people have died since the
protests began in mid-October, according to an AFP tally, and one gendarme has
also been killed.
Hundreds of people have been
arrested. Civil rights campaigners say the police have used excessive force and
carried out arbitrary arrests.
Guinea is one of the world’s
poorest countries, despite owning huge mineral resources.
Conde, who was jailed and spent
time in exile under Guinea’s previous authoritarian regimes, became the
country’s first democratically elected president in 2010.
He was re-elected in 2015.
Despite initial hopes of a new
political dawn in the country, critics say his rule has become increasingly
authoritarian. - Africa
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