Guinea’s highly-anticipated presidential election will take place on October 18, President Alpha Conde announced on national television on Tuesday.
The move comes after the 82-year-old president pushed through a constitutional reform in March that critics argued was a ploy to allow him to run for office a third time.
The possibility of a third term has spurred mass protests, with dozens dying in a subsequent crackdown.
Conde is however yet to formally declare whether he will stand for election.
His Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) party picked him as its presidential nominee during a convention last week.
In a statement on Tuesday, Guinea’s Independent National Electoral Commission also confirmed the election date and asked political parties to submit the names of their candidates by Thursday.
Under Guinea’s constitution, presidents may only serve two terms. Conde was elected president in 2010 and again in 2015.
But according to analysts, the new constitution could reset the presidential term counter and potentially enable him to run a third time.
