- Guinean officials have urged the ruling military junta to hold elections by the end of the year, saying the elections will put democratically elected leaders replacing the junta that took power in a bloodless coup last December.
However, the coup leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara’s National Council for Democracy and Development had planned to hold elections by 2010, a date widely criticised by international organisations, including the United Sates and the European Union.
Local news reports said the proposed election dates were pushed forward by a coalition made up of Guinean political parties, civil society groups and trades union movements, who long for democratic rules.
In January, the United States said it was suspending aid to Guinea if the military junta does not return to civilian rule.
The US signed an agreement with the Guinean government in September to reinforce democratic governance in the country through the organisation of free and transparent elections, as well as other measures.
Captain Camara seized power on 23 December 2008 after the death of President Lansana Conte who ruled the country for more than two decades. Mr Conte, who died in December aged of 74, had ruled Guinea for almost 25 years, since taking power in a military coup in 1984.
While Mr Conté ruled Guinea with an iron hand, allowing no real opposition, the country remained an island of relative stability in an otherwise troubled region, where brutal war ravaged neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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