CONAKRY, Oct 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Thousands took to the streets of Guinea on Thursday in the largest protest yet over a suspected effort by President Alpha Conde to seek a third term.
Protesters chanted “Amoulanfe” – “it will not happen” in the Susu language – and “Free the prisoners” on their way to the capital Conakry’s largest stadium.
The march was organized by the National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), a coalition of politicians and activists opposed to a constitutional change that could let Conde seek a third term.
On Tuesday, 12 FNDC leaders were sentenced to up to a year in prison for organizing previous rallies in which nine people were killed.
Organisers said a million people took part in Thursday’s march, while police put the number at 30,000. Local media said there were hundreds of thousands of people.
Police mobilised in large numbers but the rally remained calm, unlike smaller protests last week in which several protesters were killed and hospitals were overwhelmed with scores of people wounded by gunshots. The opposition said 10 people died, while the authorities put the toll at eight, plus a gendarme.
Last week, police opened fire on protesters as they ransacked military posts and blocked roads.
Eighty-one-year-old Conde, whose second and final five-year term expires next year, has refused to rule out running again and asked his government last month to look into drafting a new constitution.
His opponents fear that could be used as a reset button on his presidency, allowing him to run again like other African leaders who have amended or changed constitutions in recent years to stay in power.
Conde’s first election victory in 2010 raised hopes for democratic progress in Guinea after two years of military rule and nearly a quarter of a century under authoritarian President Lansana Conte, who died in 2008.
But his critics accuse him of cracking down on dissent and violently repressing protests – charges he denies. — NNN-AGENCIES