https://allafrica.com/stories/202010170004.html
In Guinea, two rivals continue to compete in an intense presidential election. Current president, Alpha Conde, is running for his third consecutive term. This has triggered outbreaks of violence and protests across the country. Conde’s supporters have blocked the opposing voters routes to polls, and attempted to sabotage their campaign. Running against Conde is Cellou Dalein Diallo, previously the prime minister, who has run against him in the previous two terms as well. Guinea’s government only recently transitioned to a democracy, with Conde democratically elected in 2010, but Conde is now transitioning to more of an authoritarian rule, causing an uproar from Guinea citizens. The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution has multiple groups expressing the need to boycott the election. The Human Rights Watch says they expect increased violence leading up to the election, due to high ethnic and political tension in the country. The United Nations has acknowledged the dangerous situation in Guinea, but has yet to act.
The increase in violence and hate speech in Guinea is very concerning not just on a state level, but also to the international community. Guinea has a large amount of the world’s bauxite- the world’s main source of aluminum. For this reason the international community needs to be involved in maintaining the country’s stability. Additionally, the ethnic tensions resulting from the election could have disastrous results. While both candidates claim to be pluralists, supporting diversity, Conde is followed by the Malinke people while Diallo is an avid supporter of the Fulani people. This has created a clear division within politics along ethnic lines, and political and ethnic tensions are one. Supporters of each party have turned into extremists, and as the reelection of Conde would be seen as a threat to Guinea’s democracy, another wave of violence would be expected if he is reelected. While the length this violence would be taken to is unknown, it could potentially result in war or even genocide if taken to an extreme.
In class we’ve begun to talk about similar things, like the dependence and intertwining of countries. In this situation, the international community is connected with Guinea through its dependence on their reserves of bauxite. This encourages the international community and the United Nations to get involved with conflict in the country in order to protect their access to this resource. One of the groups keeping a close watch on the situation, HRW, is a non-governmental organization as they’re focusing on the humanitarian effects of the ongoing election. Overall, the events going on in Guinea are concerning to the international community, and specifically the United States, as this election is a potential threat to democracy.