Former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira has come out on top in the first round of the presidential election held in Guinea-Bissau on the 24th of November.
He received 40 per cent of the votes cast and is trailed by former Prime Minister Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who received 27 per cent of the votes. Incumbent president Jose Mario Vaz finished fourth with 12 per cent of the votes.
As no candidate received over 50 per cent of the votes, Pereira and Embalo will face off in a second-round to be held on the 29th of December.
A History of Political Infighting
President Vaz made history by being the first democratically elected president in Guinea-Bissau to finish his five-year constitutional term, but years of quarrels with parliament and the ruling party have tainted his presidency.
In 2015, President Vaz fired his prime minister at the time, Pereira, much to the chagrin of the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which they were both a member of at the time. This was followed by years of political infighting which threatened the stability of the country for the rest of his presidency. President Vaz subsequently lost the endorsement of the party leading him to run as an independent in the just concluded election.
Like Pereira, Embalo also served as the country’s Prime Minister during President Vaz’s rule, from November 2016 until January 2018 when he resignedunder controversial circumstances.
Clamour for Change
The country has had a tumultuous history with military coups as well as political stagnation, and the people have grown weary. Both Pereira and Embalo are appealing to voters as the right choice to move the country forward. Whoever wins the December 29th run-off will have a number of issues to contend with including an illegal drug trade ravaging Guinea-Bissau.
