Guinea calm, but tense, as election results trickle in

Guineans supporting presidential candidate Alpha Conde line up outside Matoto's city hall, where some election results are tabulated in Conakry, Guinea. (Jerome Delay / AP)

By Andrew Kessinger

Results from Guinea’s long-awaited election on Sunday are still trickling in. The vote, the West African country’s first free democratic election since it gained independence from France more than fifty years ago, went smoothly, and despite swirling political and ethnic tensions in the run-up to the vote, the streets are calm.

The outstanding question, however, remains: Will Guineans respect the results?

The presidential candidates hail from different ethnic groups, fueling the impression that many voters chose based on ethnicity, rather than political platform.

Ironically, however, it seems September’s outbreak of violence coupled with the initial postponements, have prepared Guineans for the trials facing them. Voters are hyper-sensitive to any escalation and the military has been flexing their muscle across the country to discourage any uprising. The capital and border crossings remain under tight control.

There have been numerous non-governmental and international organizations who have pleaded for calm. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) convened a civil exchange between the wives of the two candidates, UNICEF has worked to sensitize the younger generation for the election period, and the international conflict resolution organization, Search for Common Ground (SFCG) has led a process of uniting all private radio stations to broadcast the same, impartial reporting of the electoral coverage in order to avoid the political hijacking of the news cycle.

Also, Guinea has thus far avoided the protracted civil wars of their neighbors, a fact not lost on people here

Read the rest of Andrew’s perspective on the Guinean elections here. Andrew is a former editor of the Common Ground News Service.