International Pressure On Guinea Mounts After Election

International pressure on Guinea mounts after election

Conakry, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Oct, 2020 ) :International mediators urged Guinea to lift a blockade of the home of its main opposition leader Tuesday, while the EU said there were doubts about the credibility of last week's presidential election.

President Alpha Conde, 82, won the hotly contested October 18 election, according to official results announced Saturday, setting the stage for a controversial third term in office.

But opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, 68, had already claimed victory, citing data his activists gathered at individual polling stations.

The move triggered lethal clashes between opposition supporters and security forces across the West African nation of 13 million people.

Twenty-one people died in the post-election violence, the government said, although the opposition put the number of dead at 27.

International envoys -- including ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou and the UN special representative to West Africa, Mohamed Ibn Chambas -- landed in Guinea on Sunday to mediate the dispute.

In a statement on Tuesday, the representatives said they had come to "lower sociopolitical tensions" after the disputed election.

They added that they "regretted the loss of human life," urged Guinea to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice, and called on all parties to engage in dialogue.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday said he supported the mission, and pointed out that doubts over the election's credibility remain.

Alluding to Diallo, he said that "all actors" must be allowed freedom of movement and expression.

"It is also important that the means of communication, in particular access to the internet, be guaranteed in all circumstances," Borrell added.