Guinea was under a state of emergency yesterday amid growing international concern over deadly post-election violence and with tension building ahead of a Guinean Supreme Court ruling on the disputed result.
Interim Guinean President General Sekouba Konate, who has led the troubled country since January, said emergency rule would remain in place until the results of the presidential run-off, won by opposition leader Alpha Conde, had been confirmed by the court. Losing candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo insists he won the Nov. 7 poll and is challenging the results, citing massive voter fraud.
The state of emergency announcement came as the unofficial death toll since Monday rose to seven.
PHOTO: AFP
“The president of the republic decrees a state of emergency throughout the country as of today Nov. 17 until the proclamation of definitive presidential election results by the Supreme Court,” said Major Mohamed Kasse, reading the decree on national television.
That meant “any protest, any gathering” was forbidden, Kasse told reporters.
While various sources have reported at least seven deaths in violent clashes following the announcement of election results, the government up until now has not announced any fatalities.
However, following the deaths of four people in earlier unrest, three bodies were discovered on Wednesday in Ratoma, the only suburb in Conakry that Diallo won in the vote.
While Diallo, a member of the Fulani ethnic group, called on his backers to refrain from violence his supporters have clashed with security forces in several of his strongholds around the country.
Guinean interim Prime Minister Jean Marie Dore blamed the violence on Diallo’s supporters whom he branded “hooligans.”
He said Diallo had sparked the protests on Monday with his fraud claims after the victory of Conde, who won 52.52 percent of the votes against Diallo’s 47.48 percent.
However, some rights groups, journalists and eyewitness have raised concerns of excessive force by Guinean security forces.
Diallo himself accused them of “savage brutality” against his supporters and members of his Fulani ethnic group.
The US condemned the violence on Wednesday.
“Such incidents have no place in the democratic society that Guinea aspires to become,” US Department of State spokesman Philip Crowley said.
Conde reached out to his rival after being announced the victor, saying it was “time to join hands.”
The election is Guinea’s first ever shot at democracy after over 50 years of authoritarian and military rule. If the Supreme Court confirms the results, Conde will become the fifth leader, ruling a country that is desperately poor, despite massive stores of bauxite and iron ore.
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