Conakry - Guinea — The candidates in contention for the second round of the presidential election, the Chairman of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), Cellou Dalein Diallo, and the Chairman of the Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG), Alpha Conde, demonstrated this through the signing of a joint Declaration, on the sidelines of the 17th meeting of the International Contact Group on Guinea (ICG-G) held this day in Conakry.
In this document, they reiterated their commitment to work for a peaceful, free and democratic poll all over the country, in conformity with the Memorandum of Understanding they signed in Ouagadougou on 3 September 2010 under the aegis of HE Blaise Compaore, President of Burkina Faso and Mediator in the Guinean crisis. They launched an urgent appeal to all the Guinean people to perform their civic duty in peace, calm, serenity and to make of 7 November as well as the post-electoral period, a historic moment of renewed camaraderie.
After condemning the incidents that threaten the very foundations of social cohesion in the country as well as their human, material and moral consequences, the two candidates expressed their heartfelt sympathy to the victims of these incidents and commended the proactive action of religious leaders and wise Guineans who were involved in the search for peace and reconciliation. Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde urged the Guinean authorities to make every effort to ensure order and security of the people. Both candidates reiterated their commitment to put the best interests of the Guinean Nation above all other considerations and to spare no effort to preserve their ancestral values of peace and tolerance.
The International Contact Group on Guinea expressed its appreciation to both candidates for their kind cooperation and commended them for their commitment and urged them to respect the letter and spirit of the joint Declaration they signed under its auspices. It reiterated the appeals launched by the two candidates to voters for a peaceful poll and post-electoral period. To this end, the Group urged both candidates to use, if necessary, the only available legal channels to settle any electoral dispute and reaffirmed the determination of the International Community to prosecute any troublemaker in accordance with international rules in force.
The Group welcomed the commitment of the Guinean authorities, particularly the Chairman of the Transition, General Sekouba Konate, and all the stakeholders in the process for the steps taken to ensure optimum conditions for the organization and the effective holding of the second round of the presidential election this Sunday, 7 November 2010.
