A/HRC/25/44 article 106 et seq. of the Criminal Code. During the reporting period, the right to peaceful protest was disrupted, mainly on account of violent actions on the part of young people from the opposition and the President’s camp, and certain actions of the security forces. During most of the various opposition marches in Conakry, in particular in February, March and May 2013, young persons close to the parties organizing the protests erected barricades, prevented their fellow citizens from moving about freely, harmed them physically and stole some items of their property. Similarly, groups close to the Government organized counter-demonstrations, causing scenes of violence that resulted in serious injuries and considerable material damage on both sides. 25. The rules protecting the exercise of the freedom of the press are contained in Act No. L002 of 22 June 2010. Press organs may, in principle, be freely created and they operate without major restrictions. During the election campaign, the political parties and all the candidates were able to express their opinions through the media, thereby enabling voters to make their choice. Nonetheless, in Faranah opposition leaders complained about the fact that they had encountered difficulties in disseminating their campaign messages on rural radio stations as a result of instructions reportedly given by the National Communications Council. Furthermore, on the day of the vote, 28 September 2013, the Minister of Communications is said to have urged the director of a private radio station broadcasting in Nzérékoré to close his station, in breach of the relevant principles of authority and procedure. That decision was annulled by the National Communications Council. 26. Regarding the right to vote, attempts to influence the choice of voters were noted in certain localities, in particular Kindia and Forécariah. Administrative authorities — district heads, polling station staff and even representatives of political parties — sought to take advantage of the illiteracy or lack of knowledge of the voters in order to influence their choice by indicating their “preferred” candidates and advising them on who to vote for. 27. Even though there were no major incidents during the electoral process, the OHCHR Guinea office was informed of threats and intimidation against representatives of the political parties on polling day and during the operations to gather the ballots, in particular in Lola, in Guinée Forestière, as well as in Boké and Kindia, in Basse-Guinée. These actions by the local authorities in those regions where decentralized units of the Independent National Electoral Commission and law enforcement officials were in place primarily affected members of the opposition parties and representatives of political parties, but also concerned a member of the local administration. While the results were being collated in Kindia, the president of the Centralization Committee is reported to have expelled the representatives of two opposition parties who were demanding greater transparency in the process. In the prefecture of Macenta, on the day after the legal campaign period closed, 27 September 2013, the candidate of the Groupement pour la réconciliation, l’unité et la prospérité (GRUP), an opposition party, is said to have been beaten by the bodyguards of the Minister of Presidential Security. It is also alleged that those bodyguards instructed the candidate not to file a complaint. 28. In the eight administrative regions of the country, a significant number of citizens were unable to enrol on the electoral list and many of those who were properly enrolled did not receive their voters’ cards. The percentage of registered voters not receiving their voters’ cards was 46 per cent in the prefecture of Télimélé, in the administrative region of Kindia, in Basse-Guinée. The lack of a clear indication regarding the location of polling stations and their great distance from voters’ homes contributed to citizens being deprived of their right to vote, in particular in the regions of Kindia, Kankan and Nzérékoré. Similarly, the lack of electoral equipment, such as polling booths, in certain of the country’s localities, meant that citizens were obliged to vote for candidates in public, which constitutes a violation of the secrecy of the ballot. 8 GE.14-10910