Currently there are forty-six legally recognized political parties in Guinea (PANA 29 July 2002), with the main ones being: PUP (Party of Unity and Progress); RPG (Rally of the Guinean People); UFR (Union of Republican Forces), and UPR (Union for Progress and Renewal) (USAID 10 May 2002; RFI 23 May 2002).

In 1998, just prior to the last presidential elections, the UNR merged with the PRP (Party of Renewal and Progress) to form the Union for Progress and Renewal (UPR) (Faber; Political Parties of the World 2002, 2002; Political Handbook of the World: 1999, 1999). The aim of this move was to gain strength against the ruling party (PUP) (Faber). Although the leader of the UPR is Siradiou Diallo, the party presented Mamadou Boye Ba (former leader of the UNR) as a presidential candidate at the 1998 elections (ibid.). He finished second in the balloting (ibid.). However, in November 2001, Guinéenews reported a "rift" between Mamadou Ba and Sirandiou Diallo (6 Nov. 2001). Information on the current status of the relationship between these two UPR members could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Also in November 2001, "Guinean voters approved a referendum on constitutional reforms that would allow President Lasana Conte (of the PUP(, in power since 1984, to rule indefinitely" (AFP 14 Nov. 2001). Six articles were submitted for public vote, with articles 24 and 89 seemingly being the most controversial (ARB Nov. 2001). Article 24 would change "the presidential mandate from five to seven years, with effect from the end of President Lansana Conte's mandate in 2003," and would enable presidents to remain in office indefinitely (ibid.). Article 89 related to decentralization and provided "that local government officials will be nominated by the president instead of being elected (ibid.). While the official results indicated that 98 per cent of voters (with voter participation being at 87 per cent) supported the constitutional amendments, opposition sources reportedly stated "that voter turnout had been less than 20%" (ibid.). Accordingly, the opposition parties, including the UPR, were against this referendum and prior to it, they "formed an anti-referendum movement that travelled throughout ... (Guinea(. Police cracked down on several protests and dozens of opposition activists were arrested and injured" (AFP 14 Nov. 2001). At that time, the European Union and the United States also expressed concern about the proposed changes to the constitution in Guinea (ibid.).

The most recent legislative elections were held on 30 June 2002 in which the PUP was re-elected as the ruling party, acquiring 85 of the 114 parliamentary seats in the Guinean National Assembly (AFP 8 July 2002; RFI 10 July 2002). The RPG and the UFR boycotted the polls, claiming that the elections were rigged, unfair or fraudulent in favour of the ruling party (RFI 10 July 2002; IPS 12 July 2002; PANA 9 July 2002; AFP 01 July 2002). The UPR decided not to boycott the elections and actively participated, acquiring 20 parliamentary seats and thereby achieving the largest opposition representation in parliament (RFI 10 July 2002). According to the Panafrica News Agency, "there were no reports of violence" surrounding these elections (PANA 1 Aug. 2002). For further information on the 30 June 2002 elections, please consult GIN39748.E of 8 August 2002.

With the exception of the reports pertaining to the brief arrest and detention of UNR members Mamadou Ba, Mamadou Barry and Thierno Ousmane Diallo in 1998 (please refer to Responses GIN30734.FE and GIN33411.E), reports on the treatment of members of the UNR (or now the UPR) could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

Current information on the names of the members of the UPR and their situation could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series (ARB) (Oxford(. November 2001. Vol. 38, No. 11. "Guinea: Constitutional Referendum."

Agence France Presse (AFP). 8 July 2002. "Ruling Party in Guinea Wins Elections." (NEXIS)

_____. 1 July 2002. Annie Thomas. "Guinean Opposition Dismisses Parliamentary Elections as Pointless." (NEXIS)

_____. 14 November 2001. "Guineans Approve Vote on Extending Presidential Term." (NEXIS)

Guinéenews (in French(. 16 November 2001. "Guinea: Post-Referendum Rift Reported Within Opposition." (BBC Worldwide Monitoring 17 November/NEXIS)

Faber, Michael J. N.D. "Guinea: The Party System from 1963 to 2000." http://www.janda.org/ICPP/ICPP2000...stAfrica/82-Guinea/Guinea63-00.htm [Accessed 31 July 2002]

Inter Press Service (IPS). 12 July 2002. Saliou Samb. "Politics-Guinea: Opposition Boycott Boosts Ruling Party Win." (NEXIS)

Panafrican News Agency (PANA). 9 July 2002. "Ruling Party Wins Landslide in Guinean Poll." (NEXIS)

_____. 29 July 2002. "Guinean Court Confirms Ruling Party's Landslide Victory." (NEXIS)

_____. 1 August 2002. "Guinea's Ruling Party Seeks Big Win in Legislative Vote." http://www.newafrica.com/news/prin...20in%20legislative%20vote&id=48960.html [Accessed 01 Aug. 2002]

Political Handbook of the World: 1999. 1999. Edited by Arthur S. Banks and Thomas C. Muller. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications.

Political Parties of the World. 2002. Edited by Alan J. Day. London: John Harper Publishing.

Radio France Internationale (RFI). 10 July 2002. "Guinea: Opposition Renewal, Progress Party Leader Contests Poll Results." (FBIS-AFR-2002-0712 10 July 2002/WNC)

_____. 23 May 2002. "Guinea: Preparations for General Polls Start; US Army Trains Soldiers." (FBIS-AFR-2002-0523 23 May 2002/WNC)

United States. United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 10 May 2002. "Colloquia Promote Dialogue around Election Issues. http://www.usaid.gov/gn/democracy/news/020510_ndicolloquia/ [Accessed 1 Aug. 2002]

Africa Confidential. 2001-2002.

Amnesty International. 2002. Annual Report: Guinea. Electronic Version.

IRB databases.

LEXIS/NEXIS

Internet sources, including:

Africa News. http://www.namibian.com.na including - 27 June 2002. "Boycott, disinterest and football threaten Guinea vote turnout." http://www.namibian.com.na/2002/june/africa/026C250792.html [Accessed 01 Aug. 2002]

BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk

CNN World News. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/election.watch/africa/guinea3.html

Election World. http://www.Electionworld.org

Human Rights Watch. http://www.hrw.org

WNC

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