Guinea Electoral Director Found Guilty of Fraud

In June 2010, 77 percent of the registered voters in the West African state of Guinea-Conakry went to the poll. Just ten days prior to the run-off vote, the head of the electoral commission has been convicted and sentenced for fraud.
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Guinea poll chief guilty of fraud

Head of electoral commission sentenced to one year in prison for
electoral fraud, ten days ahead of presidential vote

Last Modified: 10 Sep 2010 18:49 GMT

In June, more than three million Guineans, 77 per cent of registered
voters, took part in the presidential election

Guinea's electoral commission chief has been sentenced to one year in
prison for electoral fraud during June's presidential vote, just ten
days before the contest goes to a run-off on September 19.

Ben Sekou Sylla, the president of the National Independent Electoral
Commission (Ceni), and another official were convicted of
vote-tampering on Friday.

Boubacar Bah, a senior prosecutor, said the pair had been sentenced to "one year in prison and a fine of two million Guinea francs [$350]
each for electoral fraud".

The poor West African nation staged the first round of voting on June
27, with a second round run-off between Cellou Dalein Diallo, a former
prime minister, and Alpha Conde, a veteran opposition figure, to
follow later this month.

Diallo won 43.69 per cent of the first round ballots, with Conde
taking 18.25 per cent of the vote. Diallo is expected to win the
run-off vote.

Conde's Rally for the Guinean People (RPG) party accused Sylla and
Boubacar Diallo, the head of planning at Ceni, of manipulating the
voting records of the first round.

Earlier in the week, Boubacar Diallo said: "Alpha Conde knows he
cannot win. So he is using his connections inside the army and inside
the interim government to try to manipulate the outcome of the vote."

Some analysts have said that this latest development could derail a
democratic transfer of power to the civilian population, in a nation
currently led by the military following a coup in 2008.

In June, more than three million Guineans, 77 per cent of registered
voters, took part in the presidential election.

Source: Agencies