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Main Opposition Candidate Pulls Out of Guinea's Presidential Election


FILE - Cellou Dalein Diallo is pictured at the People's Hall in Conakry, Guinea, Sept. 21, 2010.
FILE - Cellou Dalein Diallo is pictured at the People's Hall in Conakry, Guinea, Sept. 21, 2010.

Guinea's main opposition candidate, Cellou Dalein Diallo, has dropped out of the presidential election because of what he says is fraud by the government.

Diallo's Union for the Democratic Forces of Guinea said Wednesday that he would refuse to recognize the election results. Other opposition candidates have already denounced the election as a "grand deception."

Preliminary results from Sunday's vote gave a large lead to incumbent President Alpha Conde. But with the opposition pulling out, it was unclear what would happen if a runoff was needed.

Conde is running for a second term. He was elected in 2010 in what was Guinea's first free presidential election in 57 years of independence.

Western diplomats reported a number of problems at polling stations Sunday, and violence leading up to the vote left three people dead.

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