Évaluation de la démocratie et de la gouvernance de la guinée

DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT OF GUINEA

DRAFT REPORT

JUNE 2011

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for

International Development. It was prepared by Tetra Tech ARD.

Team:

 Dr. Edward McMahon, Research Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Vermont and Consultant, Tetra Tech ARD

 Dr. Alpha Amadou Bano Barry, Sociologist and Consultant, Tetra Tech ARD

 Dr. Sheldon Geller, Assessment Team Leader and Consultant, Tetra Tech ARD

 Dr. Brooke Stearns Lawson, Conflict Mitigation Officer, USAID/ Washington

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development by Tetra Tech ARD, through a Task Order under the Analytical Services III Indefinite Quantity Contract Task Order No. AID-OAA-TO-11-00008.

This report is prepared by:

Tetra Tech ARD

159 Bank Street, Suite 300

Burlington, Vermont 05401 USA

Telephone: (802) 658-3890

Fax: (802) 658-4247

E-Mail: ard@tetratech.com

Tetra Tech ARD Contacts:

Ruzan Aghazadyan, Project Manager

159 Bank Street, Suite 300

P.O. Box 1397

Burlington, VT 05402

Tel: (802) 658-3890 ext. 2407

Email: raghazadyan@tetratech.com

DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT OF GUINEA i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(TO BE COMPLETED FOLLOWING USAID REVIEW OF DRAFT REPORT)

DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT OF GUINEA iii

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

(TO BE COMPLETED FOLLOWING USAID REVIEW OF DRAFT REPORT)

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DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT OF GUINEA

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Although still very much a fragile state, Guinea has made remarkable strides towards democracy over the past five years. In 2011 Freedom House ratings gave Guinea a record high rating of 5 in both the political rights and civil liberties categories which put Guinea in the partly free category for the first time.

This report presents an assessment of the political forces and democratization processes that have brought more democracy to Guinea:

 the emergence of a national coalition of civil society organizations, human rights associations, and trade unions that courageously lobbied for democracy and good governance and launched protests against authoritarian rule

 the declining legitimacy of authoritarian regimes led by Lansana Conté and the military junta(CNDD) which succeeded Conté after his death in December 2008

 popular revulsion of the people concerning the degree of violence used to repress peaceful protest

 the demise of Dadis Camara as head of the military junta and his replacement by General Konaté who kept the military in check and kept his promise to hold free elections

 the establishment of a National Transition Council (CNT) in 2010 which served as a constituent assembly, elaborated a liberal Constitution that limited presidential power and protected civil liberties and human rights, and organized national presidential elections

 the holding of Guinea’s first free and fair elections since independence and the acceptance of the results by the losing candidates and parties

The assessment also identifies the major barriers and bottlenecks to the consolidation of democracy and governance in Guinea over the next few years:

 the lack of democratic traditions and culture and absence of the rule of law

 a culture of impunity that prevents sanctions from being applied to corrupt officials and violators of human rights

 lack of dialogue among political parties and between government and the opposition

 manipulation of ethnic and regional cleavages by political leaders for political ends

 low levels of government efficiency and absence of adequate transparency and accountability mechanisms and procedures

 limited commitment of national government and political leaders to implement decentralization

 Limited capacity of civil society, human rights associations, and the media to serve as effective watchdog institutions

Building on the DG analysis, the assessment provides appropriate strategic and programmatic recommendations to enable USAID/ Guinea to address and overcome these barriers and bottlenecks over the next three years.

The assessment team brought together two American political scientists with long DG experience in Francophone Africa, a representative from DHCA, and two Guinean experts who provided country expertise and logistical support in organizing meetings in the country. Before going into the field, the team reviewed an abundant literature of articles, reports, and other documents related to DG issues in Guinea and prepared a desk study applying the most recent version of the DG assessment methodology.

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DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT OF GUINEA

The team spent two weeks in the field from April 27 until May 11 and held 2 focus groups with representatives of youth and civil society organizations, visited two Maisons des Jeunes in Conarky neighborhoods, and interviewed a wide range of government officials, political party leaders, representatives of civil society, human rights associations, anti-corruption groups, media, the legal professions, and groups involved in Mano River Union activities. It also met with officials from the World Bank, European Union, France, and the UN as well as USAID/Guinea

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