Guinea braces for further unrest as opposition contests election results

Violence rocked Guinea's capital Conakry on Friday as supporters of opposition leader Cellou Diallo clashed with security forces who tried to disperse them.

They threw stones and blocked roads. Police responded with teargas and bullets. The clashes erupted as soon as provisional results released by the electoral commission showed president Alpha Conde winning with a big margin.

Conde, 82, won twice as many votes as his nearest rival, opposition candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo, with 37 of 38 districts counted, according to preliminary results from the commission.

Opposition supporters accuse the electoral authorities of rigging the vote for incumbent president Alpha Conde.

Sekou Koundouno, head of mobilisation for the opposition coalition FNDC said Conde had committed 'high treason'.

"He is an illegal and illegitimate candidate who is stubbornly pursuing his obsession to turn Guin ea into a monarchy in which, by the way, he will dictate orders to his subjects," said Kounduno.

Diallo maintains that he won with a landslide despite irregularities, according to his own tally. He remains barricaded in his home which security forces have besieged since Monday.

ICC warning

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor warned on Friday that warring factions in Guinea could be prosecuted after fighting erupted.

“I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages and contributes in any other way to crimes … is liable to prosecution either by the Guinean courts or the ICC,” she said.

Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.

????#ICC Prosecutor #FatouBensouda: "Following my statement earlier this month (??), the reported violence in #Guinea remains a concern. I reiterate my call for calm & restraint from all political actors & their supporters." https://t.co/w2EJja9lTS

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) October 23, 2020