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.

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COMMENT
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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