Election Date: November 23, 2008

At stake: National Assembly

Note: This election date is tentative. The Election Tracker for Guinea will be updated as more information becomes available.

Background

The West African country of Guinea became independent from France in 1958. Under the presidency of Sékou Touré, the republic became the first outspokenly Marxist African state.

In 1965, Guinea and France broke all diplomatic ties as the country aligned itself with the Soviet Union. Economic prosperity came as bauxite deposits were found in Guinea.

Guinea has known few leaders since its independence. Touré was reelected in 1974 and 1981 to seven-year terms. Following his death in 1984, Lansana Conté launched a military coup. The new head of state shifted Guinea’s economic policies, driving them away from socialism.

After five years in office, Conté allowed for open elections and prompted the creation of multiple political parties. A new Constitution was approved by voters in 1991.

In the December 1993 election, Conté’s Party of Unity and Progress (PUP) got 51 per cent of the vote. In 2001, Conté successfully promoted a referendum on constitutional reform allowing for unlimited presidential re-election.

The colonel secured yet another term as head of state and government in 2003, as opposition parties struggled to get fair attention from the country’s media and their calls for the creation of an independent electoral commission went unheeded.

Opposition candidates boycotted the vote. The only rival to the president was his veterinarian and personal friend, Mamadou Bhoye Barry of the Union for National Progress (UPN). Conté’s critics claimed Barry’s bid for the presidency was a ruse by the government to make elections seem fair. Conté easily won the ballot with 95.2 per cent of the vote.

Click here for Guinea’s 2003 presidential Election Tracker  

The 2003 election brought about wide speculation on whether this would be Conté’s last term in office. Aside from his weak health, major social unrest would hunt the president from then on.

In 2004, Conté’s appointed prime minister, Lonseny Fall, stepped down while in a visit to France and requested asylum in that country. Fall accused the government of corruption and claimed the president interfered with his job.

In 2006, Cellou Dalein Diallo, Fall’s successor, was removed from his post by the president. A new prime minister was not appointed until the following year.

Guinea has been widely affected by armed conflicts in neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone. A recent influx of refugees has overstretched the country’s scarce resources and infrastructure.

The country’s economy is unstable and stale. Inflation has reached up to 25 per cent in 2007. Literacy is low, and life expectancy is barely 50 years of age.

2008 National Assembly Election

The last legislative election took place in June 2002. Final results gave president Conté’s Party of Unity and Progress (PUP) 61.5 per cent of the vote and 85 seats in the 114-member National Assembly. The Union for Progress and Renewal (UPR) got 21.7 per cent and 20 seats.

In January and February 2007, Guinea was practically paralyzed over major street demonstrations demanding Conté’s resignation and a general strike called by labour unions. The president instituted a state of emergency.

On Feb. 26, Conté agreed to name diplomat Lansana Kouyaté as prime minister, and the strike finally ended. Union leaders had nominated Kouyaté as one of their "consensus candidates" for the post.

Throughout the crisis, state security forces and protesters clashed several times, leaving a reported toll of more than 100 civilian deaths. Some reports accused soldiers of raping women during the unrest and pillaging houses and businesses.

On Mar. 28, Kouyaté named an entirely new cabinet with 19 ministers and three secretaries of state of his choice.

In October, Guinean lawyers went on strike over the arrest of Mohamed Lamine Doumbouya, a lawyer with the country’s Supreme Court. The group requested the arrest of Alhassane Diallo, chief of the riot and prevention police brigade, for allegedly instructing his officers to attack Doumbouya both physically and verbally.

On Nov. 13, a European Union (EU) group of electoral observers already working in Guinea warned that the continental group’s relations with the African nation would depend on the government’s performance in the upcoming ballot. The 2008 ballot will mark the first time international observers will oversee a poll in Guinea.

On Nov. 14, the government announced the creation of an Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

On Nov. 19, education minister Ousmane Souaré talked about his plan to root out corruption and fraud in the country’s schools and universities, which allows ordering the suspension of teachers who accept bribes as well as punishing cheating students with fines or even prison. Souaré defended the policy, which he implemented this year, saying, "Until now, these types of [fraudulent] practices were tolerated. (…) It was a culture of laissez faire, and that had to stop."

On Nov. 22, the Association of Magistrates of Guinea expressed their support for the ongoing lawyer’s strike, and accused the judicial branch of government of lack of solidarity and ignoring the paralysis caused by the crisis. The Supreme Court judges threatened to join the strike if the government fails to solve the situation. Lawmakers had created a 13-member panel of experts just days before to deal with the issue and "bring the two sides, lawyers and members of the security forces, closer together."

Political Players

President: Lansana Conté - PUP
Prime minister: Lansana Kouyaté

The president is elected to a seven-year term by popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The Assemblée Nationale (National Assembly) has 114 members, elected to four-year terms; 38 members in single-seat constituencies and 76 members by proportional representation.

Results of Last Election:

President - Dec. 21, 2003

	Vote%
Lansana Conté - Parti de l'Unité et du Progrès (PUP—Party of Unity and Progress)	95.2%
Mamadou Bhoye Barry - Union pour le Progrès Nationale (UPN—Union for National Progress)	4.8%

National Assembly - Jun. 30, 2002

	Vote%	Seats
Parti de l'Unité et du Progrès (PUP—Party of Unity and Progress)	61.5%	85
Union pour le Progrès et le Renouveau (UPR—Union for Progress and Renewal)	21.7%	20
Union pour le Progrès de la Guinée (UPG—Union for the Progress of Guinea)	4.1%	3
Parti Démocratique de Guinée (PDG—Democratic Party of Guinea)	3.4%	3
Alliance Nationale pour le Progrès (ANP—National Alliance for Progress)	2.0%	2
Parti de l'Union pour le Développement (PUD—Party of the Union for Development)	0.7%	1

Note: Two parties—the Union des Forces Républicaines (UFR—Union of Republican Forces) and the Rassemblement du Peuple Guinéen (RPG—Rally of the Guinean People)—boycotted the Jun. 20, 2002 election.

Archive Search

Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Election Tracker archive.

Advanced Search