President of Guinea, Prof. Alpha Conde is assuring the international community of peaceful election.
Guinea is going to the polls on October 18, 2020 and there are concerns about the possibility of violent clashes, unfair or rigged elections.
But speaking to a joint mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN) recently, the Guinean leader who is seeking a third term in office, promised to keep the peace in Guinea and indeed the entire sub-region of West Africa.
In a joint Communique by the three bodies, Prof. Conde was reported to have “reaffirmed to the Mission his determination to promote peace in Guinea and the entire sub-region.”
According to the communique, “in this regard, he assured the Mission that he would spare no effort to ensure the holding of a peaceful and transparent election in Guinea.”
The communique indicated that the joint mission was in Guinea from September 30 to October 4, 2020.
During its stay in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, the communique indicated that the joint mission held consultations with several political actors and stakeholders, including the Guinean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Guineans Abroad, the Minister of Security and Civil Protection, the group of African Ambassadors accredited to Guinea, members of the Group of 5 (G5), the political party members of the ruling coalition, the Republican opposition, coalition of opposition candidates, civil society organizations under the umbrella of the National front for Defence of the Constitution, religious leaders, women and youth associations.
It added that the joint mission also held consultations with the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), the High Authority for Communication (HAC) and the Constitutional Court on the State of preparations for the presidential election of October 18, 2020.
“The joint mission welcomed the commitment of the authorities to promote a credible and peaceful election,” it said, adding that “it also welcomed the progress made in the preparations for the various technical aspects of the election.”
The objective of the joint mission was to deepen engagement with various political actors and stakeholders in the electoral process, with a view to ensuring a credible, transparent, inclusive and violence-free election.
By Melvin Tarlue