Guinea Former Prime Minister to Challenge Conde in October Poll
Guinea Former Prime Minister to Challenge Conde in October Poll
Guinea opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo said he’ll challenge incumbent President Alpha Conde in the Oct. 18 election.
“I agree to represent our party in the presidential election,” Diallo told a meeting of his Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea in the capital Conakry after accepting the nomination Sunday. “Our fight must continue,” Diallo said.
It’s the third time Diallo, 68, has faced Conde in a presidential election after losing the vote in 2010 and again in 2015. Diallo, a former prime minister, first said he wouldn’t participate in an election where Conde was a candidate.
“We will be at the polls and in the streets, and we will counter any attempts to steal the vote,” Diallo said Sunday. “We will be in the streets, protesting until the last day to prevent Alpha Conde from obtaining a third term.”
Conde earlier this week accepted his ruling party’s nomination to run for re-election in October, despite widespread protests against his bid for a third consecutive term. The 82-year-old leader’s plan to extend his decade-long rule is a snub to the U.S. and France, which have both urged him to quit to avoid fueling civil unrest in the world’s top bauxite producer.
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