Trump accuses Republican leaders of conspiracy

Republican Donald Trump yesterday said the party's leaders did not want him to win the presidential nomination.

The system was "stacked" against him, he said in New York, accusing the Republican National Committee (RNC) of conspiring against him.

His comments came after his rival Ted Cruz was awarded all the delegates in Colorado without a state-wide vote.

Trump leads the race but may fall short of getting enough delegates to get the nomination outright.

That would lead to a contested convention in July, where delegates are free after the first ballot to back whom they want, opening the door for Texas Senator Cruz or even the third candidate in the race, John Kasich.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Cruz is likely to win on a second vote, because he has persuaded so many delegates to vote for him when they are "unbound" to vote as pledged.

But Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus rejected Trump's charge that the rules in states like Colorado had been changed in response to his rise in the polls.

Priebus tweeted that the nomination process had been well known for more than a year.

"It's the responsibility of the campaigns to understand it. Complaints now? Give us all a break."