SHOTLIST ++EARLY MORNING SHOTS++ 1. Various of women queuing, waiting for polls to open 2. Various of women sitting, waiting and holding their ID cards 3. Close of ID card 4. Close of woman's face 5. SOUNDBITE (French) Name not given, voter: "We are here to mark the history of Guinea, to choose a democratic president, chosen by the people, we are here for that this morning." 6. Member of The Special Force for a Safe Electoral Process (FOSSEPEL) and election workers preparing ballots and stamps 7. Close of workers preparing stamp 8. Various of ballots with rival candidates Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde 9. SOUNDBITE (Peul) Name not given, voter: "The nation is suffering, so we are here to vote in the name of God, so that there will be peace. That is why we are here." 10. Wide of voters queuing STORYLINE Guineans began casting their ballots in the country's first ever democratic election, that has been delayed many times following violent ethnic clashes pitting the nation's two largest ethnic groups against each other. The ethnic divide between the supporters of rival candidates Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Conde has overshadowed what was supposed to be a historic vote for the African nation of 10 (m) million on Sunday. Guinea has never had an election that wasn't rigged by the ruling party since winning independence from France in 1958 and has been ruled by military strongmen for the past 26 years. The military agreed to step aside only after the head of the military junta was wounded in a shootout last year and was forced to seek medical care abroad. In the capital Conakry, voters were out early on Sunday, waiting for the polls to open. Banker Cellou Dalein Diallo, a Peul, is facing Alpha Conde, a 72-year-old Malinke professor and former opposition leader who has taught political science at the Sorbonne University in France for decades. Their parties have become synonymous with their ethnic origins, so anyone seen wearing the yellow T-shirts of the Rally for the Guinean People - Conde's party - is instantly assumed to be Malinke. Those wearing pins bearing the portrait of Diallo, or the UFDG initials of his Union for the Democratic Forces of Guinea party, are assumed to be Peul. Guineans acknowledge they are voting along ethnic lines, but say the tension between the two groups has become so acute that they fear what will happen to their community if their candidate does not win. Both politicians are accused of using racial rhetoric to appeal to their voter base, setting the stage for a confrontation along ethnic lines if the results are not accepted by one of the parties. Last week, several dozen people began vomiting after attending a Conde rally. Soon, pro-Conde websites were reporting that they had been poisoned by Peul vendors selling sachets of mineral water. The same night, bands of Malinke youth began smashing Peul shops. In the 52 years since winning independence from France, Guineans have suffered at the hands of their rulers, who left behind a country rich in bauxite and iron, but with so little electricity that children sit next to roads trying to study by the light of passing cars. Government buildings are coated in black mould and weeds shoot out through cracks, yet the families of the former dictators live in expensive villas. Guinea's fate changed abruptly last year after an army-led massacre of civilians led to a dispute between the leader of the military junta and one of his bodyguards. The bodyguard opened fire on Captain Moussa 'Dadis' Camara, injuring him and forcing him to leave the country for emergency surgery. It cleared the path for the country's first free and fair election. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/15976384dfb0e762f5d545aaeba6b786 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 30 Jul 2015
• views: 0