Lansana Conte confirms bid for new presidential term

Guinean President Lansana Conte has confirmed that he will seek a fresh seven-year term in elections due in December after accepting the nomination of his ruling Party for Unity and Progress (PUP). The 69-year-old head of state, who came to power in a 1984 coup, changed the constitution two years ago so that he could serve an indefinite number of terms. At the same time, he effectively delayed fresh elections for 24 months by extending the presidential term from five to seven years. The fact that Conte has become increasingly debilitated by diabetes and heart problems failed to dissuade more than 600 delegates at a PUP conference from endorsing him unanimously as their candidate. Conte said in his acceptance speech that he had chosen to govern without consulting the party much in recent times because of dissent within its ranks. Political insiders said he was referring to a controversy over the steadily increasing power of Fode Soumah as effective boss of the PUP party machine. Soumah, the deputy governor of Guinea's central bank, has the official title of National Patron of the PUP. He has been touring the country for the past year to campaign for Conte's re-election. But many leading figures in the party have objected to the way in which Soumah has ridden roughshod over their authority, particularly when organising activities in their home areas. One angry delegate at the weekend conference told IRIN: "The position of National Patron does not even exist in our party's constitution." Conte told the conference: "The reason I have not been coming to consult you on major national decisions concerning both the party and the state is because I have found that you are not of one accord." The head of state also made clear that he did not intend to take a very active part in the election campaign. Agence France Presse said Conte told the conference that going on the campaign trail would simply make his feet hurt." You have chosen me, so get on with the business yourselves," he was quoted as telling delegates. Guinea's main opposition parties, which have accused Conte of rigging previous elections in 1993 and 1998, have not yet said whether they will participate in this year's poll. Several have threatened not to take part unless Conte gives the opposition free access to Guinea's state-controlled radio and television stations and appoints an independent electoral commission. But the president has so far shown no sign of agreeing to their demands. The Republican Front for Democratic Change (FRAD), a coalition of six opposition parties, said it would contest Conte's eligibility to stand for re-election in the courts since he was sick and disabled. FRAD chairman Ba Mamadou said the opposition front would invoke a clause in the constitution which disqualifies those disabled by illness from seeking public office. "For over a year now the president has not been able to make trips overseas to represent the country and he has only been attending selected events locally, so surely he is not fit for this highest office in the land," Mamadou said. Despite the powers accrued by Soumah in the PUP, Conte has no obvious successor. Diplomats have speculated for months that should he become incapable of running the government, the military may intervene and stage a coup. There was no official comment in Conakry on Sunday's military takeover in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau, but several politicians said privately that a coup in Guinea-Conakry was unlikely in the near future. "The army here still remains 100 percent loyal to President Conte and there's no chance they will turn on their commander in chief....not just yet," one source said.