Ajarama Bailo for sharing this article on Guinean history from 1958.. I will
certainly hope Guinean political leaders now will put aside their
differences and get to work for a better Guinea for all it's people....

Tribalism is a decease Africans must eradicate from politics for a better
and more democratic soceities to live in and Guinea has that chance now.

Supprise though 40% of Guinea's population is fulani...

Niamorkono


On Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 1:31 PM, bailo jallow <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

>      November 6, 2010
>
> Penelope Chester <http://www.undispatch.com/author/penelope-chester/>
>
> <http://www.undispatch.com/tag/guinea>
>
> *This is the third and final installment of a series that analyzes Guinea
> ’s transition to democracy. For more background, read part I<http://www.undispatch.com/analysis-guineas-presidential-election-part-1>
> ** and part II<http://www.undispatch.com/analysis-guineas-presidential-election-part-2>
> **. *
>
> Sunday November 7 will be remembered as a historical day for Guinea .  This
> vote, though, will have been marked by turmoil. The events leading up to
> this election – the take-over by the military junta in late 2008; the junta
> leader’s failure at governing the country; ongoing violence and political
> wrangling have made this transition to democracy a complicated, precarious
> one.
>
> Guineans will vote for one of two candidates: Cellou Dallein Diallo, the
> 58-year-old leader of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea who was the
> country’s  prime minister from 2004 to 2006, and veteran opposition leader
> and president of the Rally of the Guinean People party, Alpha Conde. Both
> candidates belong to two majority ethnic groups with a history of animosity:
> Diallo is Peul (sometimes known as Fulani, who make up about 40% of the
> country’s population), and Conde a Malinke (about 35% of the population is
> Malinke.) The tensions between these groups stretch back to the time when
> Guinea ’s first post-independence leader, Sekou Toure – a Malinke – feared a
> Peul plot against him: thousands were arrested, jailed in a gulag in Conakry
> , or assassinated.
>
> This history of antagonism has played a role in this election, with
> supporters of Conde and Diallo clashing along ethnic lines. Violence has
> flared repeatedly over the last few months, and both candidates have
> alternated between calls for their supporters to exercise restraint, and
> blaming their opponent for fueling tension. As noted in part II of this
> series, the situation has been further inflamed by the destabilizing role of
> security forces.
>
> During the first round of voting in June, with more than 20 candidates on
> the ballot, Diallo took a little over 43% of the vote, while Conde received
> slightly over 18%. In spite of this large gap between the two, over the last
> few months, analysts agree that tides are shifting. Interestingly, the
> delays in the electoral process could be benefiting Conde, who has had the
> opportunity to campaign more widely across the country, as well as foster
> political alliances with former presidential candidates who lost in the
> first round of the election.
>
> In terms of platform and electoral promises, both candidates have been
> saying that they will be the leader of all Guineans, and promise a unified
> country. Whoever becomes president will have to address the dismal economic
> situation, rein in the military and security sector, and deliver social
> services. Both candidates have highlighted the importance of investing in
> women and youth, as well as repairing all-but-broken international relations
> and partnerships with institutional donors. In addition, reforming the
> natural resources sector in order for the country to benefit from massive
> exports (70% of Guinea ’s exports are minerals) will be critical. Deals with
> foreign companies will have to be reviewed, and a better redistribution of
> revenues generated through taxation will have to be priorities for the newly
> minted president.
>
> Before these reforms can take place, though, the electoral process must be
> able to take its course unhindered. Recent months have seen an upsurge of
> politically and ethnically motivated violence. The campaign had to be
> suspended in September following demonstrations in the capital, and, in late
> October, supporters of the two contenders clashed violently again, following
> the announcement of another delay. This lead to a heavy-handed security
> response, which the UN’s human rights office described as “serious human
> rights violations.” In the past week, nearly 3,000 Peul in the north of the
> country were displaced due to these ethnic tensions, according to the Red
> Cross. In order to diffuse tension in this unstable atmosphere, the two
> candidates signed a peace agreement on Friday, agreeing to accept the
> outcome of the vote and not challenge the results.
>
> What’s most important in this election is not who gets elected. Both
> candidates have been active in the politics of their country for decades,
> and have been leading opposition leaders. While Diallo was a powerful figure
> in Conte’s government before the military junta take over, Conde has more
> former ministers in his coalition than Diallo does. Neither truly represents
> a clean break from the past, perhaps because younger Guineans are too
> disenfranchised, too disenchanted to step into the political realm.
>
> What is most significant about this election is whether it will be
> considered free and fair, and whether the losing candidate and his
> supporters will be able to rally behind the newly elected president to
> ensure that the country does not descend into more violence.
>
> As the joint US-France statement released on the eve of the election notes,
> “it is time for Guinea ’s dream of democracy, a dream that has been deferred
> for more than 50 years, to become a reality.”
>
> ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To
> unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web
> interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
>
> To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to:
> http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the
> List Management, please send an e-mail to:
> [log in to unmask]¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
>


¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤