ELECTORAL COMMISSION ELECTS INTERNAL GOVERNING

UNCLAS CONAKRY 001329 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM GV SUBJECT: ELECTORAL COMMISSION ELECTS INTERNAL GOVERNING BUREAU REF: CONAKRY 1306 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On December 11, Guinea?s new National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) met for the first time and elected its internal governing bureau. Representing civil society, Ben Sekou Syllah was elected president with 17 out of 25 votes. The remaining positions were decided relatively quickly with the end result being an official electoral commission ready to take on the work of preparing for Guinea?s legislative elections without further administrative delay. END SUMMARY. ¶2. Following the official swearing in on December 6 of the 25 members of Guinea?s National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) (reftel),the CENI met officially for the first time on December 11 in order to elect its internal governing bureau. The election took place at the People?s Palace and was widely attended by local and international observers. Minister of Interior and Security (MIS), Mamadou Bo Keita, chaired the meeting, but left the room immediately after delivering his opening speech. In Keita?s absence, MIS Secretary General Amadou Baillo Diallo oversaw the voting process. All 25 members of the Commission were present. ¶3. Three candidates were nominated for CENI president: - Mr. Ben Sekou Syllah, President of the National Council of Civil Society Organizations - Mr. Elhadj Boubacar Diallo, member of the Union Force Democratic Guinean party - Mr. Lounceny Camara, member of the USTG labor union Voting was conducted by secret ballot and the votes were counted by Amadou Diallo. Ben Syllah was elected as CENI president with 17 votes while Boubacar Diallo received six votes, and Lounceny Camara, two votes. ¶4. The CENI law provides for two vice president positions, one from the majority political bloc (La Mouvance Presidentielle) and one from the opposition political bloc. Hadja Aminata Mam Camara was unanimously elected to represent the majority bloc as vice president of the Commission. The opposition parties could not initially agree to a single candidate and decided to conduct an election among the ten CENI members representing the opposition. Both the Union for Progress and Renewal (UPR) party and the Rally for Guinean People (RPG) party put forth their representatives as candidates. Following the vote, Elhadj Amadou Oury Balde (UPR) was elected with seven out of ten votes. ¶5. With respect to the treasurer and reporter positions, the CENI law requires that both positions should be unanimously elected by CENI members. The majority bloc asked the opposition parties to let them fill the treasurer position and suggested that the opposition bloc fill the reporter position. Members agreed and Mr. Telli Diallo of the Party for Union and Progress (PUP) was unanimously elected as CENI treasurer. The opposition party members again could not agreed on a single candidate for reporter and decided to hold another vote amongst themselves. Mr. Almamy Samory was elected reporter with five out of nine opposition votes (one ballot was disqualified) and he was then unanimously elected by the Commission as a whole. ¶6. Following the elections, new CENI President Ben Sekou Syllah spoke briefly and thanked the Commission for electing him. He added that the Commission has an historic mission ahead of it ? the organization of free and fair, transparent, credible elections in Guinea. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. The general ambiance of the meeting was friendly and positive. CENI members were generally comfortable with each other and were joking amongst themselves and taking pictures. Although there were concerns that the process might take weeks or months due to political infighting, the quick decision suggests that members had already negotiated the results behind the scenes. Ben Sekou Syllah is a close, long-standing contact of the Embassy?s. While his political alignments are unclear, Embassy discussions with him suggest that he is objective and focused on results with an eye towards achieving realistic goals. CARTER