Guinea's ailing President Lansana Conte was declared the victor in presidential elections boycotted by this West African nation's opposition, securing a landslide victory with over 95 percent of the vote, according to provisional results released Thursday.
| 95% of the vote? They must really like him. Sounds like a good candidate for a toe tag in the next year... |
The lone challenger, Mamadou Bhoye Barry, won just over four percent of the vote in Sunday's poll, Territorial Administration Minister Moussa Solano announced over state radio and television. The victory gives Conte, who has ruled this West African nation since a 1984 coup, another seven years in power. Conte's win was virtually assured when opposition parties pulled out of the race in November, alleging Conte had no intention of organizing free or transparent elections. The government denied the charges.
| Didn't pulling out kind of negate any chance of free or transparent elections? Seems like, if you don't play, you can't bitch about losing. |
The European Union declined to send observers, saying Conte's grip on state media was too tight to allow a fair campaign. All radio and television stations are controlled by the government. Barry said the vote was rigged, and vowed to contest the result.
| At least he didn't quit before it even started... |
"My lawyers are going to do the work. They will file an appeal at the Supreme Court," Barry told The Associated Press. "It is my right to do so and it's the only means I have to contest the results."
| "And just look how well it's worked in ZimBobWe!" |
Solano said voter turnout was 82 percent. About 5 million of the country's 9 million inhabitants were registered to cast ballots. Conte, 69, suffers from a severe stomach ulcer and diabetes, and has had difficulty walking in recent weeks. He appeared in public only once during the campaign, and didn't attend his own closing campaign rally in Conakry last week.
| Stealing elections until the very end... |
Barry's tiny Union for National Progress party has traditionally allied itself with the ruling Party for Unity and Progress in parliament. |