Conakry - Guinean President Alpha Conde has appointed new members to the national electoral body to move closer to holding long-delayed legislative polls, but the opposition on Tuesday contested the appointments.
In a decree signed by Conde, published on Tuesday, 25 new members of the national electoral commission were named, 10 from the ruling party, 10 from the opposition, three from civil society and two from the public service.
A coalition of opposition parties, including the main opposition Union for Democratic Forces in Guinea (UFDG), slammed the appointment of "opposition" representatives from the party of former transition prime minister Jean-Marie Dore, who is seen as close to the ruling party.
"We will never accept that a member of Jean-Marie Dore's party figures amongst these representatives," said opposition spokesperson Aboubacar Sylla.
"Jean-Marie Dore has shouted from the rooftops that he is not with us. There is no reason to stick us with his representative. It is more provocation from the ruling party."
The new appointments were made in a bid to solve a political crisis that has unfolded over the holding of legislative elections in the troubled West African nation.
Set down for early 2011, after the election of Conde in the nation's first democratic poll since independence, the legislative elections have been postponed several times amid opposition protests.
After lengthy dialogue the opposition won several of its demands, notably equal representation in the electoral commission and the resignation of the commission's president Louceny Camara.
However, the coalition is still contesting the manner in which the electoral roll is being revised and the choice of South African company Waymark as technical operator.
The country last held legislative elections in June 2002 under military ruler Lansana Conte, who died in December 2008 after 24 years in power.
The national transition council set up after a subsequent coup is still acting as the country's parliament. - Sapa-AFP
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