International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) July 2013 Guineans looked forward to the completion of the country’s democratic transition with the holding of legislative elections. Scheduled for May 2013, the elections, postponed several times previously, remained a source of disagreement among political groups. Protests continued to erupt as a result of the disagreement and other local grievances. While progress was made in the conduct of law enforcement operations, overall, demonstrations were marked by violence, with over 300 people reportedly wounded and some deaths. A gradually improving economy and a reduced national debt not-withstanding, many Guineans suffered from poor living Read the full article…

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 Legislative elections due to be held in 2012 were postponed until 2013. Human rights violations committed by the security forces included excessive use of force and extrajudicial killings, as well as torture and other ill-treatment. Freedom of assembly and expression remained tightly restricted. An independent journalist was subjected to intimidation and beatings. The National Transitional Council (Conseil national de la transition, CNT), created by the Ouagadougou agreements of January 2010, had still not transferred power to an elected National Assembly by the end of the year. In April, President Condé postponed legislative elections, scheduled for Read the full article…

US Department of State 19 April 2013 Guinea is a republic. In 2010 the country inaugurated Alpha Conde, the candidate of the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) Party and longtime opposition leader, as its first democratically elected president since independence from France in 1958. Observers generally regarded the elections as free and fair; however, repeated postponements of legislative elections, originally expected to be held in 2011, stalled democratic progress. The country has never had a free and fair democratic legislative election. The government made some progress in security sector reform, yet elements of the security forces on occasion acted Read the full article…

Human Rights Watch 31 January 2013 The government of President Alpha Condé, elected in largely free and fair elections in December 2010, took some steps to address the serious governance and human rights problems that have characterized Guinea for more than five decades. However, afull transition to democratic rule and greater respect for the rule of law were undermined by continued delays in organizing parliamentary elections, rising ethnic tension, endemic corruption, and inadequate gains in strengthening the chronically neglected judiciary. Read the full report here.