Election date will not be changed, says Iala

Guinea-Bissau's President Kumba Iala on Thursday said that legislative elections scheduled for 20 April would not be postponed, thus disregarding requests by some national and internnational actors to delay the polls.

Iala made the announcement prior to his departure for Angola where Africa's Portuguese-speaking countries would hold a summit on Guinea-Bissau's political situation, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

Several national and international actorsn including opposition parties, Portugal, international organisations, had urged Iala's gvernment to defer the holding of these elections brought about when Iala, in power since 1998, dimsissed the opposition-controlled parliament in late 2002. A postponenement, they say, would allow proper preparation and transparency in the electoral process, Lusa reported.

The situation in Guinea-Bissau would be center stage at the summit in Luanda, Angola, with national and international observers saying that the situation has deteriorated as a result of recent government actions. So far, the governemnt has used unlawful detention and imprisonnement and crackdown on state-run and private media houses to create a climate of intimidation ahead of the polls.

Critics of Iala's government had said that the prevailing situation is not conducive to elections, and have called on the international community to assist the country in the organisation of the polls as well and in the country's overall stability.