Presidential elections were held in

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in 2010. They were held under the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

, with the first round taking place on 27 June 2010 and the second round on 7 November, after an initial date of 18 July and several other postponements.

Alpha Condé Alpha Condé (N'Ko: ; born 4 March 1938) is a Guinean politician who served as the fourth president of Guinea from 2010 to 2021. Condé spent decades in opposition to a succession of regimes in Guinea, unsuccessfully running against President La ...

was declared the winner, with 52.52% of the votes in the second round. He assumed office on 21 December 2010. The elections came after a coup in 2008 and the attempted assassination of the junta leader

Moussa Dadis Camara Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (; born 1 January 1964), now called Moïse Dadis Camara (),''Le Populaire'', , N°3232, 31 August 2010, p. 2 is an ex-officer of the Guinean army who served as the President of Guinea from 23 December 2008 to 15 Janu ...

in December 2009. There were months of tension and unrest during the electoral process, in which the two main candidates represented the two largest ethnic groups in Guinea: the

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

(french: Peul; ff, Fulɓe) and the

Maninka Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family. It is the mother tongue of the Malinké peopl ...

(Malinke). The elections were also the first free national election held in Guinea since it gained independence in 1958.

Background

The election was originally scheduled to be held on 13 December 2009 (with a second round, if necessary, held on 27 December 2009) following the 2008 Guinean coup d'état. Civilian and political groups proposed to hold them in December after

legislative elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in October 2009. The government agreed in late March 2009 to set the election date for 13 and 27 December, but it was then again delayed until 31 January 2010. While junta leader

had initially stated he would not run in the election, he declared on 16 April 2009 that he, like every citizen, had the right to stand in the election. On 10 May 2009, however, he stated again that neither he nor any of the other officers involved would stand in the election. Despite this vow, supporters of Camara held a rally in August 2009 to call for him to take off his uniform and run in the elections. The United States felt that he had to abstain from running to ensure a free and fair election. After Camara was shot in early December 2009 and Konaté took over as the country's leader, an agreement was reached on 16 January 2010 which stipulated that Camara would remain out of the country (where he had been treated for his gunshot wounds), that a transitional government would be formed and that presidential elections would be held within six months. The election was seen as a chance to change decades of authoritarian rule following independence, as well as to bring stability and foreign investment. This was also the first democratic election since independence in 1958.

Candidates

Twenty-four candidates were approved to run in the election, among them four former prime ministers (Cellou Dalein Diallo, François Lonseny Fall, Lansana Kouyaté and Sidya Touré). :*

( RPG) :*

Sidya Touré Sidya Touré (born 1945) is a Guinean politician. He was Prime Minister of Guinea from 1996 to 1999 and is currently the President of the Union of Republican Forces (UFR), an opposition party. Prime minister Having previously been in exile in C ...

( UFR) :*

Cellou Dalein Diallo Cellou Dalein Diallo (3 February 1952
, Xinhua, 14 December 2004 .) is a

UFDG) :*

Jean Marc Telliano Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

( RDIG) :*

François Lounceny Fall François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

( FUDEC) :* Elhadj Mamadou Sylla ( UDG) :*

Mamadou Diawara Mamadou Diawara (born 26 July 1989) is a French professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American foot ...

( PTS) :*

Ibrahima Kassory Fofana Ibrahima Kassory Fofana (born 15 April 1954) is a Guinean politician who served as Prime Minister of Guinea between 21 May 2018 and 5 September 2021. A macro-economist and specialist in economic policy, he previously held several strategic posit ...

( GPT) :* Bouna Keita ( RGP) :*

Ibrahima Abe Sylla Ibrahima is a male given name, a form of Ibrahim common in parts of Western Africa. Notable people with the name include: * Ibrahima Aya (born 1967), Malian writer * Ibrahima Bakayoko (born 1976), Ivorian footballer * Ibrahima Bangoura (born 1982 ...

( NGR) :*

Boubacar Barry Boubacar "Copa" Barry (born 30 December 1979) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Having begun his career at ASEC Mimosas, he moved to France in 2001, where he played for Rennes' reserve team. In 2003, he jo ...

(National Renewal Party (Guinea), PNR) :* M'bemba Traoré (Development and Unity Party, PDU) :* Ousmane Kaba (Liberal Party for Unity and Solidarity, PLUS) :* Abraham Bouré (Guinean Rally for Unity and Development, RGUD) :* Ousmane Bah (Union for Progress and Renewal (Guinea), UPR) :* Saran Daraba Kaba (Pan-African Democratic Convention, CDP) :* Fodé Mohamed Soumah (Generation of Citizens, GECI) :* Boubacar Bah (Democratic Prosperous Future for Guinea, ADPG) :* Lansana Kouyaté (Party of Hope for National Development, PEDN) :* Mamadou Baadiko Bah (Union of Democratic Forces (Guinea), UFD) :* Aboubacar Somparé (Unity and Progress Party, PUP) :* Papa Koly Kouroumah (Rally for the Defence of the Republic, RDR) :* Alpha Ibrahima Keïra (Republican Party (Guinea), PR) :* Joseph Bangoura (Union for the Integrated Development of Guinea, UDIG)

Campaign

For the run-off, at least twelve minor candidates (Francois Louceny Fall, Ousmane Kaba, Hadja Saran Daraba Kaba, Jean Marc Teliano, El Hadj Bouna Keita, Mamadou Diawara, Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, El Hadj Mamadou Sylla, Alpha Ibrahima Keira, M'Bemba Traore, Joseph Bangoura and Abraham Boure) voiced their support for Condé over the frontrunner. However, Diallo gained the support of Touré, who came third. Condé then also gained the support of fourth-placed Lansana Kouyaté.

Conduct

As had been expected by observers, the run-off was delayed from 18 July to a later date. The second round was then set for 14 August 2010. On 9 August, less than a week before the runoff was to take place, the vote was delayed again, to 19 September. On 10 September, the president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Guinea), National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), Ben Sekou Sylla, and another official were convicted of vote-tampering during the first round of voting. The two were sentenced to "one year in prison and a fine of two million Guinea francs [$350] each for electoral fraud." Sylla died in a Paris hospital on 14 September following a long illness, and the odds of holding the election on time were very low as tensions rose in the country. Boubacar Diallo, the commission's director of planning, said "It is highly improbable that the election will be held this Sunday. It is a purely technical problem." The Independent National Electoral Commission said a decision to postpone the election between Jean-Marie Dore, the interim prime minister, and the two candidates, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé, was made because they needed "two weeks to prepare well." They blamed a lack of necessary voting equipment, saying it could take up to two weeks for arrangements to be in place, and that a new date was yet to be decided. The dates of 10 October, and then 24 October, were proposed for the second round, but on 22 October the vote was put off indefinitely. Siaka Sangare, the new head of the election commission, set 7 November as the new date for the second round of the election "after wide consultation with the different parties in the transition. It is a date that has been agreed upon, cannot be changed, and, dare I say it, I think will be the last one set for this election that the Guinean people are waiting for so much." He added that the election had previously been postponed so as to allow political parties to call for calm following violence.

Violence

In the week before the second round of voting, at least 24 people were injured in clashes when supporters of Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé threw rocks at each other after a campaign rally. The incident occurred in several parts of Conakry, marking a sign of escalating tension ahead of the vote. Brawls were also reported near Conde's home, as well as near his Rally of the Guinean People party headquarters in Hamdallaye. The following day rioting continued killing at least one person and injuring 50."Guinea halts poll rally amid chaos"
Al Jazeera English (2010-09-12). Retrieved on 2010-11-08.

Corruption

Vincent Bolloré, a French billionaire close to then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy, allegedly gave financial support to presidential candidate

in the election. He is suspected of having offered Condé discount on advertisements from his ad agency, which he did not equally offer to his opponent

Cellou Dalein Diallo Cellou Dalein Diallo (3 February 1952
, Xinhua, 14 December 2004 .) is a

Results

The final results of the first round were announced on 20 July 2010 after confirmation by the Supreme Court, which annulled about one-third of the votes originally cast. While differing significantly from the earlier provisional results, they confirmed a runoff between

Cellou Dalein Diallo Cellou Dalein Diallo (3 February 1952
, Xinhua, 14 December 2004 .) is a

, with Diallo winning 43.69% against Condé's 18.25% and

's 13.02%. A big turnout was reported for the second round. Early results (from counting in the districts) for the second round indicated a close race, with final results due when all ballots were brought to Conakry for counting.Guinea delays election results
/ref> CENI announced the preliminary results on the evening of 15 November, with Condé the winner with 52.52% of the vote on a 67.87% turnout. Earlier in the day, both candidates claimed victory, with Diallo saying that he would not accept the CENI's provisional results until his complaints of election irregularities had been investigated. Voting along ethnic lines had been expected to hurt Diallo.

Aftermath

After Condé was preliminarily declared the winner some members of the Fula ethnic group (which largely backed Diallo) rioted, barricading roads and destroyed homes and businesses of some Malinkes (who tended to back Conde). On 18 November the military declared a state of emergency. Nouhou Thiam, the armed forces chief, read the decree on state television which prohibited civilians from congregating in the streets, while only the military and security personnel would have unrestricted movement. He said the decree would be enforced until the Supreme Court declared certified final results, which was to occur before 24 November.Guinean military declares emergency
Al Jazeera, 17 November 2010

References

{{Guinean elections 2010 elections in Africa, Guinea 2010 in Guinea, Presidential election Presidential elections in Guinea June 2010 events in Africa, Guinean presidential election November 2010 events in Africa, Guinean presidential election