12 candidates were given the go-ahead on Wednesday to contest in the October presidential elections in Guinea, where incumbent President Alpha Conde is seeking a controversial third term.
The constitutional court approved 12 applications that had been filed by the Tuesday midnight deadline, excluding a 13th bid submitted by a minority candidate, on medical grounds.
Approval by the court marks a key step towards polling day on October 18 in one of Africa’s most volatile countries.
The coming elections have already been overshadowed by a row over the president’s future and a split that emerged on Wednesday within anti-Conde ranks is set to add to the tension.
Conde this year pushed through a revised constitution that opponents say was crafted to get around a two-term limit for presidents.
Last week he ended months of speculation by confirming that he would seek a third term despite protests in which dozens have been killed.
The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), an anti-Conde coalition of parties, labor unions and civil society groups, have been campaigning against the revision which it has denounced as a constitutional coup.
