Guinea's Conde sworn in for third term

Alpha Conde, Guinea's incumbent president, was sworn in for a third term at a ceremony in the capital, Conakry, on Tuesday following elections whose result the opposition rejected. In his acceptance speech, Conde promised to tackle corruption among senior officials during his third term, with policies aimed at helping the poor.

"During the last two mandates, I noticed that the poor anonymous people in villages were abandoned by ministers and senior civil servants. We need to change our practices. We are committed to fighting corruption. We want to govern differently. This means that ministers must put themselves at the service of the people and not their families," Conde said.

Conde added that ministers, their wives and children will have to declare their wealth while companies linked to ministers and senior civil servants will be excluded from government projects.

On Nov 7, Guinea's constitutional court declared Conde's victory in the disputed October election, rejecting allegations of fraud from the opposition and handing him a third term. His opponents insist the victory was unconstitutional.

Cellou Dalein Diallo, Conde's main challenger, and other opposition candidates alleged irregularities in the official results announced that showed Conde won outright with 59.5 percent of the vote. However, the constitutional court said they had produced no evidence.

Conde called on his countrymen to put aside the differences of the past and work together with the government in building a bright future for Guinea.

"I urge every one of you to forget the divisive past and turn towards a future of unity and hope. Everyone must uphold the law and ban violence from their words and acts, so that our country remains a community of freedom and responsibility," Conde said.

"We all hope for far-reaching and swift change. This is why we have to change practices and methods. We are firmly committed to fighting corruption, cronyism and patronage," he added.

Guinea was subjected to post election violence after opposition to the October outcome provoked mass protests in which security forces killed dozens of people, sparking condemnation from international bodies like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. According to government sources, the clashes that ensued claimed at least 21 lives.

This followed pressure that had mounted after Conde backed a constitutional referendum, which was approved by voters in March, which effectively allowed him to serve two further five-year terms. The opposition boycotted the referendum.

Among the guests who attended the swearing in at the tightly-protected ceremony held in the Mohammed V Palace included 11 African heads of state and representatives from the United Nations and the regional Economic Community of West African States bloc.