Eighty two years old Guinean President, Alpha Conde, has been declared the winner of the October 18 presidential election by the West African country’s electoral body.
According to a full preliminary tally from the election commission on Saturday, Conde won 59.5 per cent of the vote.
The victory, which requires confirmation by the Constitutional Court, gives a third term in office to the 82-year-old after a bitterly fought election in which the opposition said he had no right to participate.
Conde’s supporters insist a constitutional referendum earlier 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 people died.
Opposition candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo, Conde’s nearest rival with 33.5 percent 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.
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.