Presidential elections were held in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

on 24 November 2019. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 29 December. Incumbent president

José Mário Vaz José Mário Vaz (born 10 December 1957) is a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as List of Presidents of Guinea-Bissau, president of Guinea-Bissau from 23 June 2014 to 27 February 2020. Early life Popularly known by the nickname "Jomav," Jo ...

finished fourth in the first round of voting, failing to progress to the runoff.

Umaro Sissoco Embaló Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embaló (born 23 September 1972) is a Bissau-Guinean politician serving as the president of Guinea-Bissau since February 2020. A political scientist and military officer, he previously served as prime minister between No ...

won the second round with 54% of the vote, becoming the first president to be elected without the backing of the PAIGC since 1999–2000.

Background

Guinea-Bissau returned to constitutional order in 2014 with the election of Vaz as president. Vaz won the 2014 presidential election as the PAIGC’s candidate but fell out with the party after he dismissed his Prime Minister Domingos Simões Pereira, leader of the PAIGC, in August 2015. During his presidency (2014-2019), Vaz has worked with seven prime ministers – an indicator of the degree of political instability that characterises his administration. On 26 October 2019 violent protests followed the dismissal of Prime-Minister Aristides Gomes. Vaz met with a senior military leader as rumors of a coup took hold. On 9 November 2019 President Vaz yielded to pressure from the West African regional organization ECOWAS and the African Union and reinstated his former prime minister.

Candidates

The elections were contested by 12 candidates, including: *

, incumbent president. An economist elected in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

as the candidate of the

African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (, PAIGC) is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. Originally formed to peacefully campaign for independence from Portugal, the party turned to armed conflict in the 1960s and was o ...

(PAIGC), but now running as an independent; the first president to complete his five year term in office * Gabriel Fernando Indi of the

United Social Democratic Party The United Social Democratic Party (, PUSD) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Guinea-Bissau. History The party was established on 30 May 1991 and legalised on 6 June 1992.Peter Karibe Mendy (2013) ''Historical Dictionary of t ...

, a former football club director *

of Madem G15, a former prime minister *

Carlos Gomes Júnior Carlos Domingos Gomes Júnior (born December 19, 1949)
(in Portuguese). is a Baciro Djá of the (FREPASNA), another former prime minister *

Nuno Gomes Nabiam Nuno Gomes Nabiam (born 17 November 1966) is a Guinea-Bissau, Bissau-Guinean politician who served as the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 28 February 2020 to 8 August 2023. Personal life Gomes Nabiam graduated from Kwame Nkrumah Nation ...

, an MP from the Assembly of the People United *

Mamadú Iaia Djaló Mamadu Iaia Djaló (c. 1962 – 20 December 2021) was a Guinea-Bissau politician, and the founder and leader of the New Democracy Party. Political career Running as an independent presidential candidate in the 2005 presidential election, Djal� ...

of the New Democracy Party, a former foreign minister.

Results

In the first round of voting

Domingos Simões Pereira Domingos Simões Pereira (born 20 October 1963) is a Guinea-Bissau, Bissau-Guinean politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 2014 to August 2015. He previously served as Executive Secretary of the Community of Portuguese Language Co ...

led the field, with 40.13% of the vote. Incumbent president

finished fourth in the first round of voting, failing to progress to the runoff. According to the preliminary and final results published by the national commission of elections,

won the runoff vote against Simões Pereira, 54% to 46%.

Aftermath

Simões Pereira disputed the results. Although neither the supreme court of Guinea-Bissau nor the parliament had given its approval for the official swearing-in ceremony, Sissoco Embaló had organized an alternative swearing-in ceremony in a hotel in Bissau to announce himself as legal president of Guinea-Bissau. Several politicians in Guinea-Bissau, including prime minister Aristides Gomes, accused Sissoco Embaló of arranging a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

, although outgoing president Vaz stepped down to allow Embaló to take power. Embaló was inaugurated as president in a ceremony in

Bissau Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...

on 27 February 2020. However, the PAIGC rejected the results, claiming there had been electoral fraud, and submitted a petition to the Supreme Court. Holding a majority in National People's Assembly, the party swore in Speaker Cipriano Cassamá as a rival president. Cassamá resigned after a day, saying he had received death threats.Guinea-Bissau's Cipriano Cassamá quits amid 'death threats'
BBC News, 2 March 2020 Embaló appointed

as Prime Minister. However, former Prime Minister Aristides Gomes refused to resign. After Embaló, a former army general, took office, armed soldiers were deployed at all government offices and the national radio.

References

{{Guinea-Bissau elections

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Presidential elections in Guinea-Bissau