Guinea-Bissau holds legislative polls

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Voters in Guinea-Bissau went to the polls on Sunday to elect new members of parliament more than a year after President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved the previous legislature over alleged corruption.

A total of 893,618 registered voters are set to cast their ballots, said the National Electoral Commission.

The polls opened at 7 a.m. local time (0700GMT) at 3,524 polling stations and will close at 5 p.m., the commission said.

Voters will elect 102 representatives of the National People's Assembly.

More than 20 political parties and coalitions, including the former ruling PAIGC party and its rival MADEM G15, are fielding candidates.

About 200 election observers are in the country from the regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by former Cape Verdean President Jorge Carlos Fonseca; the African Union, headed by former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano; and the mission of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) led by former Timor Leste Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Alberto Carlos.

The election came more than a year after President Embalo dissolved the assembly in May 2022 following a faceoff with the executive.

He accused the lawmakers of corruption and poor parliamentary governance.

Last year, Embalo said the 10th legislature had converted the National People's Assembly into a space of political conspiracy.

In a speech to the nation after announcing the dissolution of parliament, he said that many members had persistently combined their efforts to weaken the institutions of the republic rather than do everything to strengthen them.

It was the second time that Guinea-Bissau's democratically elected parliament had been dissolved.

In 2003, Guinean President Kumba Ialá dissolved parliament, accusing lawmakers of trying to “reduce the powers of the President of the Republic” through a constitutional review process.

A West African nation located between Senegal, Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, Guinea-Bissau has witnessed nearly a dozen coups, coup plots or attempted military rebellions since its independence from Portugal in 1974.

The latest was in February 2022, when Embalo survived an attempted coup.

The majority party or coalition appoints the government under the current political dispensation, but the president retains the power to dismiss it under certain circumstances, which led to previous political paralysis.