It is the third time opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo contests against the incumbent President Alpha Conde. These two politicians have been rivals for quite some time. The 68-year-old Dalein Diallo is confident that this time he will overthrow President Conde. As a result, there has been political tension in the country.
Since the preparation for the Presidential elections, there has been a lot of political tension in the country. Opposition candidates have held a large-scale protest to criticize Alpha Conde’s government. One of the recent strikes involved demonstrations as people demanded Conde to resign. During these strikes, many people sustained injuries as they attempted to escape from police who were shooting at them. President Conde had amended the previous constitution hence, he can rule for 12 more years. The opposition believes Conde is a corrupt leader who is using his power to achieve his interests.
Can Dialle Overthrow Conde?
According to political analysts, Alpha Conde will emerge victorious in the coming elections. Conde has defeated Dialle twice, both in 2010 and 2015, when the people reelected him. His party members also have so much faith in him as they were the ones who requested him to run for a third time. Even though at first President Conde was hesitant, he acceded to their request. It is also clear that President Conde has loyal supporters in his stronghold. Amid the campaigns before the elections, Dialle received harsh treatment when he tried campaigning in Conde’s stronghold.
Dialle is an influential politician and the main candidate with chances of defeating President Conde. He has served as Prime Minister under authoritarian leader Lansana Conte. Through opposing and condemning President Conde’s governance, he has established a great relationship with most of them civilians. Dialle believes he is the leader the Guineans need as the first step for a transition. While campaigning, Dialle urged President Conde to retire with dignity since he had already governed the state for 10 years.
The opposition is certain he will win the first round of the elections. His right-hand man, Fode Oussou Fofana, promised that they will tweet their results. That’s if anyone attempts to sabotage their victory. They cautioned that this time round no one will rob them of their victory.
UN Concerns Over Political Tensions in Guinea
United Nations is concerned that political tensions may arise in guinea amid the presidential elections. They have urged politicians to refrain from engaging in hate-speech during their campaigns.
Politics in Guinea have taken on an ethnic dimension, hence civilians from different ethnic groups could easily clash. During the Sunday elections, police were all over the capital city to maintain law and order.
Patrice Vahard, the spokesperson for the UN, told the media that Sunday elections went well. He hopes that peace will prevail until the day the electoral commission announces the elections. He said:
“Today was relatively calm. However, the period from the moment the polling stations close to the announcement of the final result by the constitutional court is going to be extremely critical. It will be critical to keeping a close eye on what happens in the coming 72 hours or so.”
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