Guinea's Conde wins presidency with 59.5% of vote

[October 24, 2020]  CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's President Alpha Conde won the Oct. 18 election with 59.5% of the vote, according to a full preliminary tally from the election commission on Saturday.

The victory, which requires confirmation by the Constitutional Court, gives a third term in office to the 82-year-old Conde after a bitterly fought election in which the opposition said he had no right to participate.

Conde says a constitutional referendum in March reset his two-term limit, but opponents say he is breaking the law by holding onto power.

Results were announced in batches in recent days, and already showed Conde with an unassailable lead, sparking street protests in opposition strongholds in which at least 17 died.

Opposition candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo, Conde's nearest rival with 33.5% of the vote, said he has evidence of fraud and plans to file a complaint with the constitutional court.

Under the law, complaints must be filed within eight days of the preliminary results.

Guinea's President Alpha Conde laughs as he addresses participants of the "G20 Investment Summit - German Business and the CwA Countries 2019" on the sidelines of a Compact with Africa (CwA) in Berlin, Germany November 19, 2019. John MacDougall/Pool via REUTERS

Conde, a former opposition leader who was sentenced to death in 1970 by Marxist President Sekou Toure, finally won the top job in 2010. His election raised hopes for democratic progress but critics say he has stifled dissent.

Diallo, 68, is a former prime minister who also finished runner-up to Conde in the 2010 and 2015 elections.

(Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

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