BISSAU, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Guinea-Bissau's National Electoral Commission (CNE) on Wednesday said that the West African nation's presidential run-off will be held on April 22.

The commission declared "null and void" all claims filed by the group of five candidates, dealing with irregularities and fraud during the first round of presidential election on March 18.

At a press conference on Wednesday in Bissau, President of the CNE Desejado Lima da Costa explained that the alleged irregularities would not have affected the overall results of the vote.

He then announced that the candidates with the highest scores, namely former prime minister Carlos Gomes Junior and Kumba Yala, will contest the second round of voting on April 22.

Yala and four other opposition leaders filed a complaint with the National Electoral Commission last week, claiming "massive fraud" in the first round of voting.