Guinea must hold presidential decider soon, says French-speakers' summit

Leaders of French-speaking nations have called for peaceful elections in Guinea as soon as possible at their summit in Montreux this weekend.

Reuters/Joe Penney

After clashes between supporters of candidates Alpha Condé and Cellou Dalein Diallo and attacks on members of the Peul ethnic group, a resolution at the Francophonie summit warned that there is a “danger of instability” and expressed concern over the “recent difficulties affecting the electoral process”.

Guinea’s military rulers, who seized power in December 2008, organised the first round of a presidential election earlier this year. But they have not yet named a date for the second round of the presidential poll.

The Francophonie summit pledged its “full support” to Malian General Siaka Youmani Sangaré – an expert with the organisation who heads Guinea’s independent electoral commission, Ceni.

Guinea was suspended from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie after the coup.
 

African heads of state, including Mali’s Amadou Toumani Touré and Burkina Faso’s Blaise Compaoré, appealed for calm during the Montreux meeting.