AFRICA/GUINEA - October 10 vote: "We need to reverse the trend in the country," Church source tells Fides

Conakry (Agenzia Fides) – "We need to go and vote on order to reverse the trend in the country and continue on the road to democracy," Fides has been told by a source from the Church in the Republic of Guinea, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has proposed that October 10 be the date for the second round of presidential elections.
The vote was supposed to take place on September 19, but was postponed due to organizational problems (see Fides 16/9/2010). "The interim President, Sekouba Konaté, must be the one to sign the decree establishing the second round for October 10. Konaté is currently in Bomako, Mali, for the national independence celebrations," says the source of Fides, which for security reasons wishes to remain anonymous.
"There are no reasons for the President not to sign it, but the interim Prime Minister, Jean-Marie Dore, who had submitted a document of 24 points to be clarified before the second round to the INEC, will ask which of the 24 points have been clarified, and which ones have not. All this in the name of transparency, but hopefully it won't lead to further tensions."
The INEC's decision was made after the appointment of its new President, Louncény Camara. The former President, Ben Sekou Sylla, had died in Paris, where he was hospitalized for a serious illness. "Louncény Camara is not well-liked by the faction of the winner of the first round, Cellou Dalein Diallo (43.69% of votes), because he is considered close to the runner-up of the first round, Alpha Conde (18.25% of votes). In particular, given its origin, Diallo's supporters fear that Camara will gain votes for Conde from the Guinea Forest area, where the first round saw a high abstention rate," says the source of Fides.
"Now there are some tensions within the INEC, along with the fire that took place last week in two offices of the Commission, apparently an accident. These are all factors which may disturb proper proceeding in the voting," says the source. "We must make an effort in the second round and reverse the trend in the country, because there are worrying signs in society. In particular, after the postponement of the runoff of September 19, inflation has increased since the Euro/Guinean franc ratio has risen from 1 Euro to 8400 francs to 1 Euro to 8900 francs. Consequently the price of a 50-pound bag of rice, a typical local food, is increased 200,000 francs (35 Euros). To understand what this means, I am reminded of the January 2007 popular uprising that caused hundreds of deaths and was triggered by the increased price for a bag of rice which had risen by 120,000 francs," concludes the source of Fides. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 09/23/2010)