Guinea - Politics - 2013 Election
The last legislative elections were held in 2002. Elections had been scheduled to take place in 2007, but the term of the National Assembly was increased due to delays caused by a general strike and with issues in setting up the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI). In 2010 the country inaugurated Alpha Conde, the candidate of the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) Party and longtime opposition leader, as its first democratically elected president since independence from France in 1958. The country began its second step toward democratic transition on 28 September 2013, when voters participated in the country’s first competitive and inclusive legislative election, selecting members of the National Assembly.
The election had subsequently been repeatedly delayed due to various problems, including funding, issues over voter registration, and a military coup d'etat. In July 2013, the UN brokered a compromise between the government and the opposition, paving the way for the election to occur. In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), 38 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 76 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms. In the proportional tier, there is one nationwide district. The National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) was dissolved in December 2008 following a military coup. Since February 2010, the role of the legislature has been filled by the appointed 155-member National Transition Council.
After more than two years of delay, citizens voted in the country’s first competitive and inclusive legislative election on September 28. Elections had been scheduled to take place on May 12, and then June 30, but waves of violent protests led to postponement. A political agreement on July 3 led to elections being scheduled for September 24. After a final delay, more than three million citizens went to the polls peacefully on September 28. While there were reports of technical and logistical difficulties as well as a lack of voter and poll worker education, domestic and international observers largely regarded the election as free and fair.
Voter turnout was 64 percent, and more than 3.3 million citizens voted. According to the official results, President Alpha Condé's Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) Rainbow came in first, winning 53 seats in the 114-member National Assembly with 1,468,119 votes [46.26% of the total]. Its allies took seven seats. Two opposition parties led by former prime ministers came in third and fourth: The Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) of Mr. Mamadou Cellou Dalein Diallo took 37 seats with 967,173 votes [30.48% of the total] and the Union of Republican Forces (UFR) of Mr. Sidya Touré, took 10 with 222,101 votes [7.00% of the total]. Other opposition parties took seven seats. The opposition forces rejected the result of the poll. International observers, including UN, EU, and Ecowas, said "breaches and irregularities were observed in a certain number of constituencies.
During the election campaign, the RPG ran on the government's record, including reforms and infrastructure investments. The opposition forces urged voters to "sanction" the Government, accusing the President of not doing enough to improve standards of living.
The 2013 parliamentary elections were the first to be held since 2002. They had been constitutionally due by 2007 but the National Assembly was dissolved following a coup in December 2008. Presidential elections took place in September and November 2010, thereby ending a period of military rule. However, parliamentary elections, initially scheduled for December 2011, were successively postponed due to various reasons, including a dispute over the composition of the election commission and the subsequent refusal by the opposition to register candidates for the elections.
The election took place after more than two years of delays, including violent street protests in 2012 and 2013. International, regional, and domestic observers generally regarded the legislative elections as free and fair, despite technical shortcomings. No party emerged with a majority, but the ruling party won a plurality of seats and was expected to be able to form a majority with its coalition partners. Unlike the presidential elections of 2010, the results were accepted peacefully after the Supreme Court validated the final results on November 15. On December 31, a presidential decree called the National Assembly to be seated on January 13, 2014.
There were no official restrictions on political party formation beyond registration requirements. Parties were not allowed to represent only one region or one ethnicity. According to the Ministry of Territorial Affairs and Decentralization, there were an estimated 140 registered political parties. Only 29 parties actually registered candidates for the September legislative elections.
Opposition access to state media was usually limited or nonexistent throughout the year. During the legislative election campaign, however, the government instituted and adhered to an equal access policy for all parties, granting all parties the same amount of time to broadcast messages on national television and Rural Radio. The opposition had more access to private media and in some cases owned their own radio stations and newspapers. On election day all radio stations agreed to work together and broadcast the same news programs and updates throughout the day.
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