President Alpha Conde won the absolute majority in the first round of Guinea election, according to country’s electoral commission. His rival Cellou Dalein Diallo has called for protests, labeling the vote illegal.
The results in the West African nation showed Conde winning with almost 58 percent of the vote, negating the need for a run-off ballot, the electoral commission (CENI) said on Saturday.
“Ahead of the definitive confirmation of the results by the Constitutional Court, CENI declares that professor Alpha Conde has won in the first round,” said commission chief Bakary Fofana.
The final results of last Sunday vote put the Conde way ahead the main opposition contender Cellou Dalein Diallo, who gathered some 31,5 percent of the votes. The officials also put turnout at around 68 percent of the six million eligible voters.
The opposition, however, condemned the vote as fraudulent even before the final results were announced, with Diallo accusing the government of ballot stuffing, intimidation, changing the electoral map and enabling minors to vote.
Earlier on Saturday, Diallo urged protests against what he called an “electoral hold-up.”
“I will invite other candidates and the citizens, who are the real victims of this electoral hold-up, to organize peaceful demonstrations in accordance with the law to express our outrage,” he said in a statement.
