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Guinea’s Conde Secures Third Term in Vote Marred By Violence

Guinea’s Conde Re-elected as President, Winning 59% of the Vote

Guinea’s President Alpha Conde won a comfortable majority in a vote marred by protests over the legality of his third-term bid.

Conde will lead the world’s biggest bauxite exporter for another six years, after defeating former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo. He got 59% of the vote, while his main challenger got 33%, Kabinet Cisse, the head of the electoral commission, said in a speech from Conakry on Saturday. Voter turnout was 78%, he said.

Conde, who’s beaten Diallo twice before, is consolidating his grip on the West African nation after a new constitution paved the way for him to seek a third term in office. At least 15 people have died in election-related demonstrations since the Oct. 18 vote.

Diallo’s UFDG party plans to challenge the results in court over alleged fraud, one of its top officials, Aliou Conde, who isn’t related to the president, said by phone. “The vote is by far the most transparent election ever organized in Guinea,” Prime minister Ibrahima Kassory Fofana said.

The 82-year-old Conde’s re-election spells stability for Russian and Chinese companies that have invested heavily to extract abundant iron-ore and bauxite reserves. The Russian aluminum producer United Co. Rusal operates three Guinean subsidiaries. The country is home to Simandou, the world’s largest undeveloped iron-ore deposit.

Conde’s victory “provides peace of mind from an investment perspective, even if allegations of electoral fraud and violence perpetrated by security forces will seriously worry investors,” Eric Humphery-Smith, Africa Analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said in an emailed comment.

It gives “the green light Simandou partners need to move full steam ahead,” he said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.