Guinea will hold its parliamentary election on February 16, 2020 after the country's electoral commission unanimously approved the date, the commission's head Amadou Salif Kebe said on Saturday.

It is unclear whether the vote will actually proceed as stated given previous postponements and anxiety over the voters' register.

The term of Guinea's current parliament began in January 2014 and an election was slated to be held late last year or earlier this year.

The commission had proposed in September that the election be held on December 28 but the opposition rejected it saying the date was impractical and favoured a suspected intention by President Alpha Conde to seek a third term.

Protests in Guinea broke out in mid-October amid fears that Conde would try to push an amendment to extend his stay in office after he launched constitutional consultations saying Guinea's basic law needed reform.

President Conde ended up extending the parliament's term indefinitely in January following a stalemate between the government and opposition which delayed the election.

Conde, 81, has neither confirmed nor denied speculation about his intention to seek a third term.

At least 17 people, including a police officer, have been killed in the clashes.