UN envoy confirms Guinea legislative polls will take place 28 Sept

The UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to West Africa, Said Djinnit, who is heading the political talks on Guinea, Saturday confirmed that Guineans were ready to hold a free, transparent and all-inclusive legislative election from Saturday, 28 September, 2013.

In a communiqué issued here on the occasion of the International Peace Day, Djinnit said he based his prediction on commitments made Saturday by all the political stakeholders in the West African nation to allow the National Electoral Commission more days to finalize strategies for the polls.

After long delays, the election, originally scheduled for 24 September, was postponed by four days following talks between the opposition and government on Saturday, Djinnit said.

Guinea’s main opposition leader had threatened to call supporters into the streets if authorities went ahead with the election without fully addressing complaints over preparations.

The political leaders of the Guinea’s Democratic Forces Union (UFDG), the Hope and Development Party (PEDN) and the Union of Republican Forces (UFR) had alleged that the National Electoral Commission was partial in mapping out the constituencies.

‘On this International Peace Day, I am calling on all the stakeholders to engage fully in the implementation of all the agreements towards the conduct of the polls as scheduled in Guinea and abroad in a peaceful atmosphere,’ Djinnit concluded.