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Former President Jonathan who led an international delegation alongside ex-President of Benin, Nicephore Soglo on a pre-election assessment mission to Guinea has advised the Government of the west African country to provide more clarity on its position on the speculations and fears over planned constitutional amendments as a means of boosting citizen confidence in the coming elections.
The group made this known in Conakry over the weekend at a press conference where it presented the preliminary findings of the pre-election assessment mission ahead of the scheduled 16 February the parliamentary elections.
In its recommendations to the Government, the delegation urged the authorities to: “Provide greater clarity on its stance with regards to speculations around the constitutional framework of the country in order to enhance citizen confidence in its commitment to deepening democracy and fostering peaceful and credible legislative elections.”
It also urged the government to “create platforms for regular communication between civilian populations and security services at the national and sub-national levels in order to prevent further clashes between demonstrators and security services and the recurrent violence.” The group also advised the electoral commission (CENI) to take reasonable steps to ensure the credibility and accuracy of the voters list while it urged the political parties to “participate more actively in platforms created to facilitate inter-party dialogue.”
The mission which was promoted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Kofi Annan Foundation was meant to demonstrate international support for Guinea’s electoral process and the political and electoral environment ahead of the February 2020 legislative elections and make recommendations that could enhance citizen confidence and mitigate the risk of electoral violence.
