Elizabeth Cote, chief of party in Guinea, gives an update on what has been happening since the June 27, 2010 presidential election in Guinea that was hailed as the first free election in the country since their independence in 1958:  

“Following a 48-hour delay in the publication of preliminary results of the presidential election by the Guinean Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Guineans were relieved to have some information about the first open, transparent and democratic election in Guinea's history. Late on Friday July 2, the President of the CENI, Mr. Ben Sekou Sylla, announced preliminary results from the June 27 election live on national television and radio. Out of the 24 contenders, no single candidate won over 50% of the votes. A second round will take place with Cellou Dalein Diallo of the UFDG (who got 39.72% of the vote) and Alpha Conde of the RPG (who got 20.67% of the vote) as candidates. IFES was impressed by the active participation (turnout a reported 77%), and political maturity of the Guinean population during this highly sensitive period.

“The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its final verdict by July 15th, following the period to receive, review and adjudicate electoral complaints. Once the Supreme Court issues its opinion, the date for the second round of elections will be formally announced. Given consistent reports of numerous irregularities and incidents of fraud as well as the high number of invalid ballots and disqualified polling places (up to 19% of votes cast), it is expected that there will be significant dispute over whether the preliminary results reflect the will of the Guinean people as expressed on June 27.

“IFES continues to support the CENI as it prepares for the run-off election. The full election results are available on the CENI website.”