UN envoy welcomes new date for Guinea’s run-off presidential poll

The United Nations envoy for West Africa, Said Djinnit, today welcomed the decision by authorities in Guinea to set 7 November as the new date for the second round of the country’s presidential election.

The run-off was earlier scheduled for 24 October, but Guinea’s independent electoral authority cancelled the poll, citing technical difficulties, which it said prevented the contest between Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé, the two candidates who garnered the highest number of votes in the first round in June.

Mr. Djinnit, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, urged the two candidates and other Guinean leaders to do everything to defuse tensions and create conditions conducive for a peaceful poll. He also reiterated the UN’s support for the Guinean political transition.

Unrest broke out in Guinea last week after the election was postponed and the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) voiced concern that security forces used excessive force to break up demonstrations, leaving at least one person dead and scores injured.

The election is the final stage of the interim Government’s efforts to restore democracy after Captain Moussa Dadis Camara seized power in a coup in 2008 following the death of long-time president Lansana Conté.