Guinea surfaces against ethnic clash to enter presidential polling
World
Guinea surfaces against ethnic clash to enter presidential polling
Guinea’s president faces an electoral rematch Sunday as ethnic clashes that marked the last presidential election threaten to resurface. Hundreds of people are lining up to begin voting in the country’s second democratic presidential election in more than half a century. Six million Guineans are expected to show at more than 14,800 polling stations under surveillance of anti-riot police, gendarmerie and international observers. President Alpha Conde is running against seven candidates, including main opposition leader, Cellou Dalein Diallo. Conde defeated Diallo in a 2010 election marked by clashes between their supporters along ethnic lines. Similar clashes this week killed at least three people and injured some 50.
The concerns about the prospects for violence remain. Guinea has a long history of political violence, specifically around elections.
Corinne Dufka, West Africa associate director for Human Rights Watch
Guinea endured decades of corrupt dictatorship after its independence from France in 1958. The country is one of the world’s poorest and was blindsided by a severe outbreak of Ebola, which began in the country’s southern forests in December 2013 and then spread to neighboring countries. Half the population live below the U.N. poverty line, and according to the World Bank, per capita income in 2014 was just $470 with many lacking access to electricity or running water.
