Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson and U.S. Ambassador to Guinea Patricia Newton Moller were the special guests at a roundtable organized by USAID-Guinea on the role USAID’s democracy promotion partners have in upcoming legislative elections in the West African nation.

Joining Carson and Moller at the August 31 meeting was USAID Mission Director Nancy Estez and USAID's implementing partners: the National Democratic Institute, Search for Common Ground, USAID's "Working Together" project and IFES.

All partners were asked to provide a brief description of their actions, existing bottlenecks and recommendations for the future.

IFES-Guinea Country Director Elizabeth Cote gave an overview of the current political environment and the impact USAID has had on the democratic transition in Guinea. She focused on the specific contributions IFES' work has had on the electoral process thanks to USAID's steadfast vision.

Cote also highlighted the need to strengthen political alliances, reinforce the new legislature, develop mechanisms for citizen dialogue with elected officials and reinforce civil society’s watchdog capacity to preserve and consolidate rule of law.