Elections likely to increase security risk in the country

Guinea Bissau is set to hold presidential elections on 28 June 2009 to replace President Joao Bernardo Vieira, who was assassinated in March. Security measures will be heightened throughout the country during the election period. Electoral officials indicated that a number of measures had been taken to ensure the vote is free and transparent, including the early distribution of voting materials to polling sites. Officials also indicated that preliminary election results will be released within five days of the vote -- instead of the usual 10-day waiting period -- in an effort to reduce tensions surrounding the vote. Security conditions have been increasingly tense since the March 2009 assassination of Vieira and his top rival Gen. Tagme Na Waie. On 4 June security forces killed a presidential candidate when he allegedly resisted arrest on charges of plotting a coup, and another candidate withdrew from the race citing security concerns. U.N. officials have voiced concerns regarding the viability of the upcoming elections and have warned that the political crisis in the country has created a highly tense and fragile security setting for the vote.