Guinean President Alpha Conde casts his ballot in Conakry, Guinea, Oct 18, 2020. (SADAK SOUICI / AP)

CONAKRY - Guinea's incumbent President Alpha Conde won the presidential election on October 18, the head of the country's Constitutional Court (CC) said on Saturday. 

In a public hearing, Constitutiuonal Court President Mohamed Lamine Bangoura said Conde, the candidate of the ruling party RPG (Rally of the Guinean People), won the electoral race with about 59.50 percent of the votes, against some 33.49 percent for his main opponent, Cellou Dalein Diallo, president of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea.

Constitutiuonal Court President Mohamed Lamine Bangoura said Conde, the candidate of the ruling party RPG (Rally of the Guinean People), won the electoral race with about 59.50 percent of the votes

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The president of the CC said that the October 18 ballot was regular and thus declared President Alpha Conde elected president of Guinea.

The turnout in the presidential election is estimated at about 78.88 percent, with a total of 12 candidates running in the presidential election on Oct 18.

Conde reacted by appealing to national unity.

“I dedicate this victory to all Guineans, whether they voted for me or not. Beyond our differences, it’s the Republic of Guinea that we need to put above our personal ambitions,” Conde said on his Facebook page.

Diallo condemned the court ruling but stopped short of calling for protests, as he has in the past.

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“The members of the high court of our country preferred to place themselves at the service of a man and his ambitions rather than respecting their oath and defending the law,” he said in a statement.

Conde’s supporters celebrated in the streets of the capital Conakry, while police officers were deployed near Diallo’s house to head off possible unrest.

In the opposition stronghold of Hamdallaye, in northwestern Guinea, security forces used tear gas to disperse Diallo supporters who had barricaded roads, a local resident said.