CONAKRY: Guineans cast ballots Sunday in a vote that has been delayed multiple times following violent ethnic clashes that pitted the nation’s two largest ethnic groups against each other, a vote that progressed calmly into the afternoon despite its underlying tensions.
The ethnic divide between supporters of rival candidates Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde has overshadowed what was supposed to be a historic vote for the West African nation of 10 million, which has never had a vote considered free and fair.
It has been ruled by military strongmen for the past 26 years and the military only agreed to step aside after the head of the junta was wounded in a shootout, forcing him to leave the country for surgery last year.
But by midday election observers said voting was calm and that they had recorded only minor problems, including insufficient voting materials in some polling stations. No major incidents were reported as voting continued into the afternoon.
Poll-watchers said they were more concerned about the aftermath of the vote, and whether each community would accept a president from an ethnicity other than their own.
“People say to themselves that the country is like a cake that is going to be divided up. They think the only way to get a slice of the cake is if their ethnic group is in power,” said poll worker Hamidou Soumah, who presided over the vote in a tiny store room in the Kaloum neighborhood of Conakry where people were snaking out the door.
Some voters expressed optimism about the prospect of the first civilian ruler. Voters chose between 58-year-old Diallo and 72-year-old Conde, a political science professor.
“For the first time there is no strongman influencing the vote. Within the next week we’ll have a civilian president. It’s really now that we can start talking about democracy,” said Jose Camara, 50, who held out his index finger stained with blue ink to indicate he had voted.
Yet Guinea’s seemingly remarkable turnaround has been clouded by ethnic tensions, which emerged after the first round of voting in June when the field of 24 candidates was narrowed to two. Diallo is a member of the Peul ethnic group; Conde, the Malinke.
Ethnicity has not been counted since the country’s 1954 census, but officials estimate the two groups each represent at least 30 percent of the population. Past rulers have openly shown ethnic preferences, appointing their own to key ministerial positions. Those ministers in turn used their influence to find jobs and opportunities for their kin.
Both Malinke and Peul voters say they fear that if their candidate does not win, their community will be excluded.
Riots between Peul and Malinke supporters of the two parties paralyzed Conakry for several days last month, before spreading as far as Siguiri, a town 500 kilometers north of here, where at least 1,800 Peul fled their homes.
Some say they wish they could vote for the candidates based on their platforms and regret choosing along ethnic lines, but feel they need to do so to protect their community’s interests.
“It’s not good that we are voting this way. You shouldn’t vote for a Peul because he’s a Peul or a Malinke because he’s a Malinke,” said tailor Mamadou Bah, a Peul who said he’s voting the Peul candidate, Diallo.
“I’d like to think I’m voting for (Diallo) because of his ideas, but I’m mostly voting for him because the Malinke in my neighborhood are constantly insulting us,” he said. “And we feel attacked.”
The No. 2 of the military junta, Gen. Sekouba Konate, who agreed to allow the country to hold elections after the military leader was forced into exile, warned citizens in a televised speech that violence would not be tolerated.
“Violence begets violence,” he said on the eve of the vote. “We know that violence is easy to spark and difficult to put an end to. Better we don’t start at all.”
In 2009, Camara’s presidential guard opened fire at a rally of protesters who gathered in September to call for an end to military rule, killing at least 150. Women were gang raped at gunpoint in the presence of high-ranking officers.
A scuffle broke out at the school where Konate came to cast his vote, surrounded by a net of beefy soldiers who beat back reporters and voters.
As Konate walked in to vote, a group of children gathered on the street outside to watch. One of his bodyguards pointed his Kalashnikov at the kids, and a woman yelled at the soldier. He shoved her, and she fell to the ground scraping her shoulder, said witnesses.
“We’re sick of being ruled by the military,” said 19-year-old Oumou Toure, the woman’s niece. “They’re psychopaths. They’re not normal. I wonder if they’ll really give over power to civilians when this vote is over.”
Guinea holds elections amid simmering ethnic tensions
Publication Date:
Mon, 2010-11-08 00:24
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