[2] The election was seen as a chance to change decades of authoritarian rule following independence,[16] as well as to bring stability and foreign investment.

[18] Twenty-four candidates were approved to run in the election,[19][20][21] among them four former prime ministers (Cellou Dalein Diallo, François Lonseny Fall, Lansana Kouyaté and Sidya Touré).

For the run-off, at least twelve minor candidates (Francois Louceny Fall, Ousmane Kaba, Hadja Saran Daraba Kaba, Jean Marc Teliano, El Hadj Bouna Keita, Mamadou Diawara, Ibrahima Kassory Fofana, El Hadj Mamadou Sylla, Alpha Ibrahima Keira, M'Bemba Traore, Joseph Bangoura and Abraham Boure) voiced their support for Condé over the frontrunner.

[4] On 10 September, the president of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), Ben Sekou Sylla, and another official were convicted of vote-tampering during the first round of voting.

"[26] Sylla died in a Paris hospital on 14 September following a long illness, and the odds of holding the election on time were very low as tensions rose in the country.

"[27] The Independent National Electoral Commission said a decision to postpone the election between Jean-Marie Dore, the interim prime minister, and the two candidates, Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé, was made because they needed "two weeks to prepare well."

[31] In the week before the second round of voting, at least 24 people were injured in clashes when supporters of Cellou Dalein Diallo and Alpha Condé threw rocks at each other after a campaign rally.

[16] Vincent Bolloré, a French billionaire close to then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy, allegedly gave financial support to presidential candidate Alpha Condé in the election.

[32] The final results of the first round were announced on 20 July 2010 after confirmation by the Supreme Court, which annulled about one-third of the votes originally cast.

[5][6] Earlier in the day, both candidates claimed victory, with Diallo saying that he would not accept the CENI's provisional results until his complaints of election irregularities had been investigated.

Nouhou Thiam, the armed forces chief, read the decree on state television which prohibited civilians from congregating in the streets, while only the military and security personnel would have unrestricted movement.