Guinea-Bissau's opposition wins legislative elections

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) –Guinea-Bissau's opposition won an overall majority in Sunday’s legislative elections, according to official results announced Thursday.

A coalition known as Inclusive Alliance Platform (PAI)-Terra Ranka, led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) won 54 out of 102 seats, ahead of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo's MADEM G15 party, which won 29 seats, said Mpabi Cabi, the acting head of the electoral commission.

The Party for Social Renewal (PRS) picked 12 seats, the Workers' Party six seats while the Assembly of the People United got one seat.

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 has led to previous political paralysis.

Results of Sunday’s election signal a coalition government could be formed to govern the country for the next four years.

The party with the majority in parliament automatically assumes the prime minister’s docket.

Nearly 900,000 voters were registered to participate in the election, according to the electoral commission.

Some 20 political parties and two coalitions participated in the election.

Muniro Conte, spokesman for the victorious coalition, the Inclusive Alliance Platform (PAI)-Terra Ranka, described the victory as “historic” and expressed their “readiness to govern the country.”

Fernando Dias, the leader of the Party for Social Renewal said his party “accepted the results because there were no irregularities.”

He assured that his party will give all the necessary support to the winning coalition in parliament to ensure the social welfare of the Guinean population.

The international observer missions Tuesday urged political actors and the public to respect the results of the elections, which they stated “went well, despite some incidents that did not prevent the smooth running of the process.”

The elections were monitored by observers from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) among others.

The head of the CPLP mission, Alberto Carlos, former Timorese Foreign Minister told reporters the “election campaign and voting took place in a peaceful environment.”

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

Embalo, who came to power in 2019, accused the lawmakers of corruption and poor parliamentary governance.

In the legislative elections of 2019, the PAIGC won with 47 seats, followed by MADEM with 27, PRS 21 seats and other smaller parties divided the remaining seats.

The West African state located between Senegal, Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, Guinea-Bissau has witnessed nearly a dozen coups, coup plots or attempted military rebellions since independence from Portugal in 1974. The latest was in February 2022, when Embalo survived an attempted coup.