Guinea-Bissau votes in tense election as Embalo seeks second term – Firstpost

Voting began in Guinea-Bissau on Sunday in decisive presidential and legislative elections, with President Umaro Sissoko Embalo seeking to become the first leader in nearly 30 years to win a second consecutive term in the coup-prone West African nation.

Embalho faces 11 challengers, including his main rival, Fernando Dias – a relative newcomer who is backed by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), the historic movement that led the country’s struggle for independence from Portugal. The PAIGC was barred from fielding its candidate this year after authorities said it missed the filing deadline.

Analysts expect a tough race between Embalho and Dias. If no candidate crosses 50%, the race will end. Embalo cast his ballot in the eastern city of Gabou wearing his trademark red keffiyeh and expressed confidence in his prospects.
“I call on everyone to vote en masse, to elect the person who will bring stability and progress to Guinea-Bissau, building up this country,” he said.

A nation shaped by a coup – and the booming cocaine trade.

Since gaining independence in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced at least nine coups before Embalo took office in 2020. Embalo claims to have survived three additional attempts since then, although critics have accused him of exaggerating or engineering political crises to justify the actions – charges he rejects.

Embalo has campaigned on promises of stability, infrastructure development and widespread access to clean water. But opposition groups have questioned the legitimacy of his presidency this year, arguing that his mandate expired in February.

Meanwhile, Dias has accused the president of trying to weaken democratic institutions and centralize power if he is re-elected. In an interview with Reuters before the vote, he criticized Embalho for failing to curb the country’s cocaine trafficking network.

“He is the head of the government. No one does anything without his permission,” Dias told Reuters.

Emballo denies any connection between his administration and the drug trade. Yet in August a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) warned that cocaine trafficking through Guinea-Bissau may be more profitable now than at any other time in the country’s history.

Casting his vote in Bissau, customs official Jorge Monteiro said the country’s leadership needs the will to tackle criminal networks.
“With regard to drug trafficking, only the political will of our leaders can help our country wage a crusade against this scourge,” he said.

Polarized politics and tight control on election campaign

Voting continued smoothly in Bissau on Sunday morning and most polling stations opened on time. Nearly half of the country’s approximately 2 million citizens are registered to vote.

But observers saw a tense political climate.
“The current electoral environment is extremely tense with a highly polarized political landscape,” said GI-TOC’s Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo.
He said that although the opposition enjoys strong grassroots support, its campaign activities are “very restricted”, making the competition uneven.

As the campaign ended on Friday, voters themselves appeared divided. Tailor Sacco Cande expressed hope that Embalo would solve Guinea-Bissau’s security and food crisis. But businesswoman Berta da Goya said she was uneasy about Embalho dissolving parliament in late 2023 in what she described as an attempted coup by the government.

Voting is due to close at 1700 GMT, and provisional results are expected within 48 hours.