BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau: Guinea-Bissau will vote on Sunday in a presidential election marked by political and ethnic tensions with President Umaro Sissoco Embalo seeking a second term that would make him the nation’s first leader elected to successive terms.
The presidential and parliamentary elections come at a critical time in West Africa where democracy has recently been challenged by disputed elections that analysts say could embolden militaries that have forcefully taken power in several countries.
Guinea-Bissau is one of the world’s poorest countries, with half its population of around 2.2 million people considered poor, according to the World Bank. It has emerged as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, and has been dogged by coups and attempted coups since its independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago.
Embalo, a 53-year-old ex-army general first elected in 2021 and backed by a political coalition of more than 20 groups, is being challenged by 11 other candidates.
Analysts say Sunday’s vote is a close race between Embalo and Fernando Dias da Costa, a little-known 47-year-old backed by former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, the runner-up in the 2019 presidential election.
Pereira and the main opposition African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, which he leads, were barred from Sunday’s election after authorities said they failed to submit their application early.
Nearly half the country’s population are registered to vote, and a runoff will be held if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of votes.
It is seen as one of the most contentious votes in recent history because of the exclusion of the main opposition party.
“The democracy we knew ... is no longer the model we are experiencing; we are experiencing a model defined by a single person,” said political analyst Augusto Nansambe.
Uncertainty clouds the election
The vote comes at a critical time for the African country which has endured multiple coups, with an attempt reported in October. Embaló has also faced a legitimacy crisis with the opposition saying his tenure had long expired and that they do not recognize him as president.
The Guinea-Bissau leader won an election in Nov. 2019, and was sworn in as president in Feb. 2020, but the opposition contested the result and the Supreme Court did not recognize his victory until Sept. 4. The opposition says Embalo’s term should have ended on Feb. 27 of this year, but the Supreme Court ruled it should run until Sept. 4. The vote, however was delayed until November.
The legislative election is also being held in unusual circumstances. The opposition-dominated parliament has not convened since December 2023, when it was dissolved by Embalo after an attempted coup. The main opposition party won the legislative election in 2023 and in 2019.
“Aside from questions of who emerges victorious, the ongoing electoral story in Guinea-Bissau will be about how to build and sustain momentum for a stable system of government and institutional guardrails against the abuse of executive power,” the Africa Center for Strategic Studies said in its review.
Embalo pitches infrastructure while challenger promises stability
The election campaign was marked by accusations of hate speech, murder and corruption from the different candidates — a trend that could throw the country into crisis, according to Denise dos Santos Indeque, coordinator of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding in Guinea-Bissau.
Embalo hinged his campaign on infrastructural development including roads construction and the modernization of the country’s main airport.
Dias, on the other hand, promised to promote stability, freedoms and security. He accused Embalo’s government of “systematic” human rights violations, urging people to “vote for change, for national unity, for reconciliation, for peace, and for an end to the authoritarian regime in Guinea-Bissau.”
In the capital of Bissau, resident Marinho Insolde expressed optimism the election outcome would improve conditions.
“I hope that these elections will bring peace and tranquility so that there is no more hunger,” said Insolde.
Guinea-Bissau’s president seeks second term in close race marked by tensions
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Guinea-Bissau’s president seeks second term in close race marked by tensions
- The presidential and parliamentary elections come at a critical time in West Africa
- Democracy has recently been challenged by disputed elections that analysts say could embolden militaries
Ukraine, US, Europe still seeking common ground in peace talks, French official says
- French presidency official: “The European perspective of Ukraine is clear and it’s a realistic perspective”
PARIS: Ukraine, the United States and European powers are still working to find a joint position that would outline the contours of a peace deal, including security guarantees for Kyiv, that could be taken to Russia, a French presidency official said on Friday.
“Our goal is to have a common foundation that is solid for negotiation. This common ground must unite Ukrainians, Americans and Europeans,” the official told reporters in a briefing.
“It should allow us, together, to make a negotiating offer, a solid, lasting peace offer that respects international law and Ukraine’s sovereign interests, an offer that American negotiators are willing to bring to the Russians.”
The official said there was no joint document yet, but all sides would carry on negotiations in the coming days through various calls and meetings. He did not say whether Washington had set a deadline.
Kyiv is under pressure from the White House to secure a quick peace but is pushing back on a US-backed plan proposed last month that many see as favorable to Moscow.
Britain, France and Germany, along with other European partners and Ukraine, have been working frantically in the last few weeks to refine the original US proposals that envisaged Kyiv giving up swathes of its territory to Moscow, abandoning its ambition to join NATO and accepting limits on the size of its armed forces.
The French official said the talks aimed at narrowing differences with the United States and centered on territory and potential security guarantees for Ukraine once there is a peace accord.
Those discussions include the possibility of a NATO Article-5 type clause involving Washington that would seek to reassure Kyiv in case it was once again attacked by Russia, the official said.
The Europeans have also faced pressure in recent weeks with some American proposals touching on elements that concern NATO and the European Union, including suggestions on fast-tracking Ukraine’s accession to the bloc.
“The European perspective of Ukraine is clear and it’s a realistic perspective,” the official said. “That is what we are committed to and it is up to the Europeans and the Ukrainians to agree on how to proceed.”
