USAID/Guinea: Democracy in Action: National PTA Federation Holds First General Election

JULY 12, 2006

Democracy in Action: National PTA Federation Holds First General Election

Guinea's national federation of PTAs has its first democratically elected board -- thanks to grass-roots training and development by the USAID-supported PACEEQ consortium.

DALABA - The first general election in the history of Guinea's national association of parent-teacher associations recently culminated in April with the selection of a new president and the elevation of seven women to prominent positions on the 17-member board.

The General Assembly of FEGUIPAE (Fédération Guinéen des Parents Elèves) brought together representatives of regional PTA federations throughout Guinea and even had a little political intrigue thrown in for good measure.

The elections were a particularly sensitive issue for FEGUIPAE and the debates, both during the plenary sessions and after hours, were heated and intense. According to Mme. Adama Sow, the board's newly elected Vice President, "there has been talk of helping the FEGUIPAE to organize elections for a long time, but until now it has all been just talk. Many NGOs and institutions announced they wanted to help the FEGUIPAE, but in the end everyone except for PACEEQ backed off because of the sensitivity of the issue."

"The success of the entire process is a testament to the integrity and character of all involved, especially the outgoing board," said Seni Diop, chief of party for PACEEQ, a consortium of five NGOs - World Education, AED, EDC, Save the Children and RTI International - funded by USAID/Guinea.

"For example, the outgoing president, Djibril Fofana, remained a dignified presence in the General Assembly even after being voted out of office," Diop said. "The handover ceremony that took place later in Conakry was equally dignified, and after their respective addresses, the outgoing and incoming presidents embraced to the resounding applause of all present."

The new president, Alsény Yattara, was elected in the secret balloting with 33 votes, over 31 votes for Mme. Ramatoulaye Doukoure and two votes for the outgoing president.

The General Assembly was presented with several opportunities for democratic dialog. One particularly thorny issue dealt with a Ministry of Education decree called "Circular No. 0999," which sought to reinforce civil-society and state collaboration by clarifying the roles and responsibilities of Parent's Associations in the co-management of schools. Specifically, it stated that no ministry officials should serve on the boards of Guinea's PTAs.

Nonetheless, some Ministry Officials on the board were reluctant to give up their posts. One delegate who also was a ministry official sought to amend the FEGUIPAE bylaws to permit ministers who currently served on the board to continue to hold office.

Newly elected Vice President Mme Adama Sow and re-elected First Secretary for Education and Gender Equity Mme Jeanne Soumah

This informational bombshell heated up the debates already under way and the large hall was abuzz. Some delegates expressed anger over the amendment as they felt this undermined the effectiveness of the FEGUIPAE. In the final analysis, the balloting concluded without any ministry or school administrative officials elected to board positions.

Participants reflecting on the General Assembly had a variety of observations about the democratic process.

"We talked and explained and talked and explained over and over again." said Mme. Néné Adama Sow, the incoming Second Secretary for Organization, who led the General Assembly's election efforts. "I explained to the General Assembly how we would use the symbols [to identify candidates], how the candidates would make campaign speeches, how we would use the urn and then count the votes. I'm very proud of what we did to make those first elections a success."

"It was very difficult to convince people at first to use the secret ballot" recalls Amadou Kansaghel Bah, the newly elected Secretary for Infrastructure and Equipment. "It's become widely accepted today, but I remember how hard we had to work back then just to convince people to accept to use the secret ballot. People were very skeptical, even hostile to the idea.

"In the old days we used to raise our hands, but everyone was always looking around to see how everyone else voted, there was a strong degree of control, people were intimidated to express themselves freely," Bah said. "Now with the secret ballot there is no fear, people can vote how they feel in their hearts and this is true majority decision-making."

The norms have effectively changed, he said. "Today, not holding democratic elections by secret ballot is unusual. But back then it was the reverse; holding democratic elections was a highly unusual, even radical thing to do."

Other officers elected to FEGUIPAE's board are: Lansana Soumah, Administrative Secretary; Cyrille Camara, Treasurer; Babadi Kalissa, Deputy Treasurer; Mme. Ramatoulaye Doukore, Secretary for External Relations; Mme. Jeanne Soumah, First Secretary for Education and Gender Equity; Moussa Kouroma, Second Secretary for Education and Gender Equity; Sory Bobo Doumbouya, First Secretary for Organization; El. Boubacar Bah, Secretary for Social Affairs and Conflict Management; Moussa Conde, Secretary for Sports and Culture; Mme. Mawatta Conde, Secretary for the Environment; Mamadou Aliou Cherif, Secretary for Information; Mme. Poret Diawara, Secretary for Communication, and Mme. Hadja Fatoumata Cissoko, Secretary for School Health and Hygiene.

Story and photo contributed by PACEEQ