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| Guinea President Set to Win Re-election, as Opponents Allege Voter Fraud | Guinea President Set to Win Re-election, as Opponents Allege Voter Fraud |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| CONAKRY, Guinea — Even before the vote, the scales were widely seen to be tipped in favor of the incumbent. | |
| The presence of President Alpha Condé in the national news media dwarfed that of his rivals, while the trademark yellow of his Rally of the Guinean People party dominated the potholed streets of the city center, on posters and billboards firmly reminding voters who was in charge. | |
| As one diplomat at the French Embassy put it, “He held all the cards.” | As one diplomat at the French Embassy put it, “He held all the cards.” |
| All seven opposition candidates have gone further, condemning the vote held on Sunday as fraudulent. The president’s main rival, Cellou Dalein Diallo, pulled himself out of contention on Wednesday, and opposition supporters have clashed with the police, all before final results have been announced. | All seven opposition candidates have gone further, condemning the vote held on Sunday as fraudulent. The president’s main rival, Cellou Dalein Diallo, pulled himself out of contention on Wednesday, and opposition supporters have clashed with the police, all before final results have been announced. |
| “I have no president,” shouted one protester during a standoff. | “I have no president,” shouted one protester during a standoff. |
| “They stole the vote in 2010, and they’ve stolen it again now,” the man added, referring to the controversy over the last election, when Mr. Condé came from well behind to beat Mr. Diallo in the second round of voting. | “They stole the vote in 2010, and they’ve stolen it again now,” the man added, referring to the controversy over the last election, when Mr. Condé came from well behind to beat Mr. Diallo in the second round of voting. |
| The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, has joined the list of figures warning against violence, calling on all parties to present their grievances in court, not the streets. | The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, has joined the list of figures warning against violence, calling on all parties to present their grievances in court, not the streets. |
| Despite the election’s many organizational flaws, observation missions from West Africa and the European Union have generally endorsed the vote, which passed peacefully after a campaign marred by violence. They said the vote was badly run but largely fair. | Despite the election’s many organizational flaws, observation missions from West Africa and the European Union have generally endorsed the vote, which passed peacefully after a campaign marred by violence. They said the vote was badly run but largely fair. |
| The past year has been particularly tough for Guinea, with the Ebola outbreak bringing an already overwhelmed health care system to its knees. | The past year has been particularly tough for Guinea, with the Ebola outbreak bringing an already overwhelmed health care system to its knees. |
| More than 2,500 people have died in Guinea from the disease, and even before the outbreak, the country had some of the world’s worst health indicators, with life expectancy at just 56 and one in 10 children dying before age 5, according to World Bank data. | More than 2,500 people have died in Guinea from the disease, and even before the outbreak, the country had some of the world’s worst health indicators, with life expectancy at just 56 and one in 10 children dying before age 5, according to World Bank data. |
| Shortly before the election, however, the region had its first Ebola-free week since the outbreak began, raising hopes that the ordeal may soon end. | Shortly before the election, however, the region had its first Ebola-free week since the outbreak began, raising hopes that the ordeal may soon end. |
| Mr. Condé, who was well in the lead with about 80 percent of the vote counted on Thursday, has won the support of many Guineans over the past five years. His first term included an overhaul of the powerful and unaccountable army he inherited from his predecessors, and a drive to bring some transparency to the country’s murky mining sector. | Mr. Condé, who was well in the lead with about 80 percent of the vote counted on Thursday, has won the support of many Guineans over the past five years. His first term included an overhaul of the powerful and unaccountable army he inherited from his predecessors, and a drive to bring some transparency to the country’s murky mining sector. |
| His campaign was further aided by the recent completion of a Chinese-built hydroelectric dam, which has drastically improved the capital’s electricity supply and provided a tangible mark of progress for residents. | His campaign was further aided by the recent completion of a Chinese-built hydroelectric dam, which has drastically improved the capital’s electricity supply and provided a tangible mark of progress for residents. |
| “Electricity was the biggest problem here,” said Alpha Camara, a telecommunications technician, as he left a polling station in central Conakry, the capital, after casting his ballot for Mr. Condé. “Now businesses will start to invest here, and the future will be better.” | “Electricity was the biggest problem here,” said Alpha Camara, a telecommunications technician, as he left a polling station in central Conakry, the capital, after casting his ballot for Mr. Condé. “Now businesses will start to invest here, and the future will be better.” |
| During the campaign, Mr. Diallo focused heavily on attacking the government and electoral commission over the logistics of the election, and his vague promises of jobs for youths were not expected to win over enough voters outside his traditional ethnic Peul support base. | During the campaign, Mr. Diallo focused heavily on attacking the government and electoral commission over the logistics of the election, and his vague promises of jobs for youths were not expected to win over enough voters outside his traditional ethnic Peul support base. |
| With vast mineral wealth at stake, including what are thought to be the world’s largest undeveloped deposits of iron ore lying beneath the Simandou mountains in the remote and forested southeast of the country, the business community has been watching with interest. | With vast mineral wealth at stake, including what are thought to be the world’s largest undeveloped deposits of iron ore lying beneath the Simandou mountains in the remote and forested southeast of the country, the business community has been watching with interest. |
| Roddy Barclay, a senior analyst at Control Risks, a London-based risk consultancy, said investors would be happy to see Mr. Condé remain in power. | Roddy Barclay, a senior analyst at Control Risks, a London-based risk consultancy, said investors would be happy to see Mr. Condé remain in power. |
| “Although Condé’s ambitious mining sector reform program has often placed him at odds with investors amid accusations of excessive resource nationalism,” he said, “political continuity likely offers the best chances for the realization of mining sector development.” | “Although Condé’s ambitious mining sector reform program has often placed him at odds with investors amid accusations of excessive resource nationalism,” he said, “political continuity likely offers the best chances for the realization of mining sector development.” |
| With the mining sector hit by a global slump in commodity prices and legal battles raging over the future of the Simandou project, Guinea has gained little from its enormous natural wealth. | With the mining sector hit by a global slump in commodity prices and legal battles raging over the future of the Simandou project, Guinea has gained little from its enormous natural wealth. |
| Most of the population continues to live in grinding poverty. According to United Nations statistics, 43 percent of Guineans are surviving on less than $1.25 per day. Youth unemployment is endemic, and infrastructure is in a state of chronic disrepair. | Most of the population continues to live in grinding poverty. According to United Nations statistics, 43 percent of Guineans are surviving on less than $1.25 per day. Youth unemployment is endemic, and infrastructure is in a state of chronic disrepair. |
| For decades after an acrimonious split from its colonial power, France, in 1958, Guinea was ruled by military dictators, including its first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré, during whose 26-year reign thousands were tortured and killed and up to a million people fled. | For decades after an acrimonious split from its colonial power, France, in 1958, Guinea was ruled by military dictators, including its first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré, during whose 26-year reign thousands were tortured and killed and up to a million people fled. |
| After the country’s most recent strongman, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, eventually stepped down as president in late 2009, paving the way for the first free vote since independence, Mr. Condé clinched the narrow and contested victory over Mr. Diallo. | After the country’s most recent strongman, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, eventually stepped down as president in late 2009, paving the way for the first free vote since independence, Mr. Condé clinched the narrow and contested victory over Mr. Diallo. |
| Subsequent legislative elections have been plagued by delays and accusations of fraud, reigniting tensions between the country’s two main ethnic groups, which had previously lived together comparatively peacefully. | Subsequent legislative elections have been plagued by delays and accusations of fraud, reigniting tensions between the country’s two main ethnic groups, which had previously lived together comparatively peacefully. |
| The recent violence has increasingly taken on an ethnic dimension, with the Peul, who make up 40 percent of the population and largely support Mr. Diallo, clashing with supporters of the president, many of whom hail from the Malinke people. In Conakry’s largely Peul neighborhood of Bambeto on Sunday, where many people never received voter cards, frustrations were high. | The recent violence has increasingly taken on an ethnic dimension, with the Peul, who make up 40 percent of the population and largely support Mr. Diallo, clashing with supporters of the president, many of whom hail from the Malinke people. In Conakry’s largely Peul neighborhood of Bambeto on Sunday, where many people never received voter cards, frustrations were high. |
| “Condé has divided us,” said Mamadou Bilo, a middle-age Diallo supporter, as he watched people line up to cast their ballots. “I do not even have one Malinke friend anymore. It never used to be like this.” |