Conakry - Guinea — «There were no major irregularities or incidents likely to taint the freedom, credibility and transparency of the 7 November 2010 presidential election in Guinea».
This is how the Leader of the ECOWAS Observer Mission for this election, Professor Theodore HOLO, President of the High Court of Justice of Benin summarized his preliminary statement at a press conference this day in the presence of the President of ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho. This statement indicated that during preparations for the poll and the handling of pending issues that could jeopardize the success of the process, concrete steps were taken by various stakeholders involved in the electoral process to ensure optimum conditions for the effective holding of the poll.
Among these arrangements, Professor HOLO mentioned the technical competence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize the poll, the commitment of the authority of the transition to make every effort to ensure security before, during and after the vote and until the declaration of results as well as the joint declaration signed by the two candidates in contention on 5 November 2010 in which they reiterated their commitment to work for a peaceful, free and democratic poll all over the country.
Regarding the conduct of the poll, the Mission noted, inter alia, the huge voter mobilization and turnout at the various polling stations, the availability of polling materials and polling officials as well as the presence of the Special Force for Securing the Electoral Process (FOSSEPEL). The Mission also found out that the voting process was smooth and in accordance with current standards, particularly in terms of collation and vote counting as well as the presence of representatives of both candidates in contention for this second round of presidential election in almost all the polling stations.
However, the Mission noted some shortcomings in some polling stations relating among others to inadequate polling materials, inconsistency between the attendance sheets and the displayed voters' register. These various shortcomings to which a progressive and agreed settlement were found during the vote, did not in any way affect the good conduct of the poll. The ECOWAS Observer Mission concluded therefore that there were no major irregularities or incidents likely to taint the freedom, credibility and transparency of the 7 November 2010 presidential election in Guinea, stated Professor Theodore Holo.
To this end, ECOWAS is pleased with the efforts made by the Guinean authorities and all the stakeholders to ensure a good conduct of the poll in a peaceful environment. It also lauded the commitment and the sense of civic responsibility the voters showed during this historic electoral process. It urged all the stakeholders to continue the rest of the electoral process in the same state of mind and respect for order and discipline until the declaration of provisional then final results. ECOWAS reiterated its appeal to both candidates, their supporters and sympathizers to respect the results of the poll and urged them to resort to legal channels in case of any dispute in conformity with the Memorandum of Understanding for a peaceful election signed in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 3 September 2010.
It reminded both candidates that victory is not an end in itself. « This presidential election rather opens new ways for future elections that will ensure the participation of all the political parties in the exercise of power in the interest of Guinea », stressed Professor Theodore Holo. ECOWAS seized the opportunity to thank the Chairman of the Transition, General Sekouba Konate for his commitment and leadership in the successful completion of the transition and expressed its gratitude to the Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore, Mediator in the Guinean crisis, for his remarkable efforts in this completion. It reiterated its commitment to support Guinea in the next stages for a successful transition and to consolidate democracy and good governance in this country.
