Final Guinea Election Results Expected Monday

The head of Guinea’s electoral commission says final results from last week’s presidential run-off vote will be announced Monday.

Speaking on television, General Siaka Sangare said by mid-Monday at the latest, Guineans will, in his words, “know the name of the man who will preside over the country’s destiny.”

Partial results announced Friday with about half the ballots counted showed former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo leading opposition figure Alpha Conde by a little more than 50,000 votes, a difference of three-and-a-half percent.

Both candidates have urged supporters to remain calm and to not engage in any violence.

Street fighting between the two men’s supporters was one of the factors that caused the run-off to be postponed four times before it finally went ahead last Sunday.

The presidential election is meant to return Guinea to civilian rule after decades of dictatorship and a two-year military junta.

Mr. Diallo won the first round in June, beating 23 other candidates with 44 percent of the vote. Mr. Conde was second in that poll with 18 percent.

The run-off campaign took part in an atmosphere of ethnic tension. Mr. Diallo belongs to the Fulani, Guinea’s largest ethnic group, while Mr. Conde comes from the smaller Malinke community.

Some information in this story was provided by AFP.