Conakry - Guinea's opposition leader said on Wednesday he has accepted an invitation for talks to resolve the country's election crisis with head-of-state Alpha Conde.
Cellou Dalein Diallo, a former prime minister, told AFP he had been invited to the presidential palace on Friday for discussion which the presidency has said will focus on "the national socio-political situation".
"If the head of state invites you to meet him, even if you are not obliged, it is polite to respond positively to this invitation and that's what I'll do," Diallo told AFP.
The announcement follows anti-government protests on Monday in which one person died and at least 20 were wounded, according to a hospital source and the opposition, as clashes broke out between demonstrators and the police in Conakry.
Two weeks of violent confrontations in April left several people dead and dozens wounded in the country's largest towns and cities.
Guinea's opposition boycotted parliament in March in protest over the timetable for the presidential ballot, accusing Conde of using the Ebola epidemic as an excuse to postpone voting.
The opposition had called for the local election -- originally planned for the beginning of 2014 -- to be held before this year's October presidential vote but they are not due to take place until March 2016.
Conde has insisted the country's constitution rules out the kind of changes to the election timetable sought by opposition supporters.
The two men last met in December, when Diallo went to offer his condolences to Conde over the death of the president's sister, but they have not held political talks since April 2012, the opposition leader said.
The presidency said late Tuesday that Conde wanted dialogue with his political foe to move towards "free, credible and transparent" elections.
But opposition spokesman Aboubacar Sylla said the talks would not affect plans for nationwide protests on Thursday and Monday next week, "unless our demands are totally and completely satisfied".
AFP
