Easy poll for ill Guinea leader

Lansana Conte has been unwell

Guinea's diabetic leader looks set to secure another seven years in office in presidential elections next month.

The Supreme Court announced that only President Lansana Conte and one other candidate met the requirements to contest the 21 December poll.

Last week, the opposition alliance announced a boycott saying the vote would not be free and fair.

The challenger, Mamadou Bhoye Barry, of the Union for National Progress party is barely known - even among Guineans.

The BBC's Alhassan Sillah in Conakry says six other presidential hopefuls were disqualified by the Supreme Court panel for a variety of reasons.

These ranged from a failure to pay the application fee, to the failure on the part of at least one candidate, to convince the panel of his correct date of birth.

The European Union has announced that it will not finance or send election observers because of doubts over the conduct of the poll.

Mr Conte seized power in a 1984 coup and has since won two contested polls.

The main opposition parties have warned of civil unrest and the danger of the country slipping into the kind of conflicts seen in neighbouring countries like Liberia and Ivory Coast. In 2001, Mr Conte, who suffers from ill health, won a referendum to end the age limits for presidential candidates and extend the term of office from five to seven years.