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           Minister: Guinea to Hold Polls With or Without Opposition

   Guinea will hold long-delayed parliamentary elections this year, to
   conclude its transition to civilian rule, with or without the
   participation of the country's main opposition coalition, a government
   minister said on Friday.
   The mineral-rich country originally was supposed to hold the vote in
   2011, but it was held up amid wrangling over the makeup of the
   electoral commission and opposition accusations that the government was
   planning to rig it.
   Eight people were killed and hundreds more wounded during two weeks of
   clashes this month between security forces and opposition protesters
   demanding reforms before the election, currently scheduled for May 12,
   could be held.
   Guinea's minister for territorial administration, Alhassane Conde, told
   Reuters the objections would not block the vote. Guinea President Alpha
   Conde is not related to the minister.
   "Yes, the elections will be held this year, very soon, with or without
   the opposition," Conde said in an interview at his office in the
   capital Conakry's administrative district. We don't want to do it
   without them, but if necessary, we will go ahead and hold the election
   without them," he said.
   Prolonged transition
   The vote is meant to be the last step in a drawn-out transition to
   civilian rule after a coup in late 2008 led to two bloody years with
   the army in charge.
   Conde accused some members of the opposition of making unacceptable
   conditions to try and delay elections he said they feared losing.
   Opposition groups have alleged there were irregularities in awarding a
   contract to update the electoral register to the South African firm
   Waymark - and demanded a replacement.
   "If we were to bring in a new company to replace Waymark, there is no
   way we'll be able to organize the election within the next six months,"
   said Conde.
   The European Union, a major donor, unblocked about 174 million euros
   [$223.43 million] in aid after the elections commission proposed a date
   for the parliamentary polls late last year. But Conde said Guinea
   risked losing future donor funding if elections were not held by
   September.
   More protest
   The opposition this week walked out of talks with the government
   organized in the wake of this month's violence, accusing the ruling
   coalition of failing to respect the terms of a planned dialogue over
   election preparations.
   The opposition coalition on Friday called for another round of protests
   and a strike from April 8, saying the government has not contacted them
   since they abandoned the talks.
   Guinea's main opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, who lost to
   President Conde in a tight presidential run-off in November 2010, told
   Reuters last week the opposition would do everything to stop the
   election if it was held without them.
   "We'll not participate in the election with Waymark handling the
   technical process, and we'll disrupt it. We do not want the election to
   be held without us," Diallo told Reuters during a visit to Senegal.
   Guinea is the world's top supplier of the aluminum ore bauxite and
   holds rich deposits of iron ore, gold and diamonds. But the political
   turmoil has unnerved investors.
   Behind Guinea's political feuding there is a deep-rooted rivalry
   between the Malinke and the Peul, its two largest ethnic groups. The
   Malinke broadly support President Conde, while the opposition draws
   heavily from the Peul.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/guinea_to_hold_elections_with_or_with
   out_opposition_reuters/1631548.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/guinea_to_hold_elections_with_or_without_opposition_reuters/1631548.html