The poverty-stricken west African country, which is rich in bauxite and other minerals but prone to instability, is currently ruled by a military junta that has pledged to restore democracy, starting with the June vote.

"We very strongly recommend the holding of the first round of the presidential election on the planned date because (...) imperfect elections are much better than a delay, which could heighten uncertainty about the outcome of the transition," Mamadi Kaba, president of the Guinean branch of the African Encounter for the Defence of Human Rights (RADDHO) said in a statement.

"If these elections don't happen on that date, it is very unlikely that they can be held because of the (Muslim fasting) month of Ramadan, the rainy season and work on the harvest," Kaba said.

"And if the elections are put off until the end of the year, the electoral scenario in Ivory Coast risks reproducing itself in Guinea with unforseeable consequences for national unity and stability," he concluded.

In divided Ivory Coast, elections have repeatedly been put off since President Laurent Gbagbo's mandate expired in 2005. Polls there are due to be held this year.

Military rule was imposed on Guinea within hours of the death of long-time ruler general Lansana Conte in 2008.

General Sekouba Konate has led Guinea since the head of the junta that took power in December 2008, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, was shot in the head in an assassination bid late last year.

Camara had become an outcast for much of the international community after his troops last September opened fire on an opposition demonstration in Conakry and killed at least 150 people.

RADDHO-Guinea expressed concern at ethnic tensions within the Guinean army, saying that officers and non-commissioned officers close to Camara are suspected by Konate and his aides of wanting to sabotage the political transition.

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