'I urge every one of you to forget the divisive past,' Guinea's president says

Guinean President Alpha Conde, who run for a third term in the country's presidential election, begged countrymen and women to move on with their lives and "forget the past" as turmoil erupts over his constitutional violation.

Condé pledges to respect the law during his inauguration in Conakry on Tuesday December 15, 2020. | Photo: Twitter/@alphacondepresi

Conde made the appeal for unity during his swearing in cermony on Tuesday.

Legally, Guinea's sconstituion only allows presidents to hold the highst office for two terms, if they win re-election, but since Conde changed the constitution back in March to extend presidential term limits, the 82-year-old run in the October 18 national election, winning 59.5% of the vote.

Opposition leaders call the move a clear abuse of power by a man who was supposed to change Guinea's political history after becoming the country's first democratically elected president in 2010 and re-elected in 2015.

According to the government, 21 people have died in clashes over Conde's relection, but oppositio leaders say the death toll actually sits at 46.

By: Niza Nondo