Den tidl. franske koloni Guinea i Vestafrika opnåede et frit valg i 2010 efter et kvart århundrede med diktatoriske tilstande – men nu er der intet parlament og det har bl.a. fået donorerne af udviklingsbistand til at drosle ned og skabt store politiske og etniske spændinger.
CONAKRY, 7 September 2012 (IRIN): Guineans are hopeful that the 5 September resignation of the electoral commission president – one of the opposition’s principal demands – will break a political impasse and move the country to a long-overdue parliamentary election.
Electoral commission head Lousény Camara, seen as an ally of President Alpha Condé, said that he was stepping down “in the superior interest of the nation” so that the electoral process can move forward.
Opposition groups have repeatedly accused Condé’s government of planning to rig (svindle med) the vote that was supposed to be held within six months of the 2010 presidential elections.
Since the presidential poll, Guinea has been stuck between a chaotic past and aspirations for a stable democracy.
The absence of an elected parliament has not only held up donor funds but fuelled ethnic tensions and threatened to reverse hard-won gains, observers say.
“It seems that all political discourse (strid) these days comes down to arguments over when the legislative election will finally be held, or who is going to try to rig the legislative election,” UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator Anthony Ohemeng-Boamah told IRIN.
“The country needs to move past that, return to normalcy and focus energies on improving the lives of Guineans,” added he.
A military junta seized power in 2008 after the death of Lansana Conté who had ruled Guinea for 24 years.
Autocratic leaders and military regimes have been at the helm of the West African country since independence in 1958. The 2010 polls brought hopes for stable and democratic governance.
Although President Condé’s victory was contested, Guineans – even those who insist his opponent, Cellou Dalein Diallo, won – said they accepted him so that the country could move on.
But the failure to hold legislative elections has stirred up mistrust and tensions.
Dropping the ball
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http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96260/GUINEA-The-missing-parliament
