Guinean opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, centre, walks by supporters at his headquarters in Conakry, Guinea, Monday Oct. 19, 2020.
(AP Photo/Sadak Souici)CONAKRY โ Guinea's opposition candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo declared himself the winner of the West African country's presidential election Monday before the official results have been announced, setting up a tense showdown with the incumbent leader of a decade.
Guineaโs national election commission, meanwhile, reiterated that only it could release official results and would do so by the end of the week.
โThis strategy of forced, premature and unjustified celebration was meticulously planned well before the election by Mr. Cellou Dalein Diallo,โ the government's communications unit said in a press release Monday.
Observers fear the political standoff between Conde and Diallo could reignite long-standing ethnic tensions between Guinea's two largest ethnic groups.