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Guinea-Bissau volition ballot connected Sunday (November 23, 2025) successful a statesmanlike predetermination marked by governmental and taste tensions, with President Umaro Sissoco Embaló seeking a 2nd word that would marque him the nation’s archetypal person elected to successive terms.
The statesmanlike and parliamentary elections travel astatine a captious clip successful West Africa, wherever ideology has precocious been challenged by disputed elections that analysts accidental could embolden militaries that person forcefully taken powerfulness successful respective countries.
Guinea-Bissau is 1 of the world’s poorest countries, with fractional its colonisation of astir 2.2 cardinal radical considered poor, according to the World Bank. It has emerged arsenic a hub for cause trafficking betwixt Latin America and Europe and has been dogged by coups and attempted coups since its independency from Portugal much than 50 years ago.
Mr. Embaló, a 53-year-old ex-army wide archetypal elected successful 2021 and backed by a governmental conjugation of much than 20 groups, is being challenged by 11 different candidates.
Analysts accidental Sunday’s (November 23) ballot is simply a adjacent contention betwixt Mr. Embaló and Fernando Dias da Costa, a little-known 47-year-old backed by erstwhile Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, the runner-up successful the 2019 statesmanlike election.
Mr. Pereira and the main absorption African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, which helium leads, were barred from Sunday’s (November 23) predetermination aft authorities said they failed to taxable their exertion early.
Nearly fractional the country’s colonisation are registered to vote, and a runoff volition beryllium held if nary campaigner wins much than 50% of votes.
It is seen arsenic 1 of the astir contentious votes successful caller past due to the fact that of the exclusion of the main absorption party.
“The ideology we knew ... is nary longer the exemplary we are experiencing; we are experiencing a exemplary defined by a azygous person,” said governmental expert Augusto Nansambe.
The ballot comes astatine a captious clip for the African country, which has endured aggregate coups, with an effort reported successful October. Mr. Embaló has besides faced a legitimacy situation with the absorption saying his tenure had agelong expired and that they bash not recognise him arsenic president.
The Guinea-Bissau person won an predetermination successful November 2019 and was sworn successful arsenic president successful February 2020, but the absorption contested the result, and the Supreme Court did not recognise his triumph until September 4. The absorption says Mr. Embaló’s word should person ended connected February 27 of this year, but the Supreme Court ruled it should tally until Sept. 4. The vote, however, was delayed until November.
The legislative predetermination is besides being held successful antithetic circumstances. The opposition-dominated parliament has not convened since December 2023, erstwhile it was dissolved by Mr. Embaló aft an attempted coup. The main absorption enactment won the legislative predetermination successful 2023 and successful 2019.
“Aside from questions of who emerges victorious, the ongoing electoral communicative successful Guinea-Bissau volition beryllium astir however to physique and prolong momentum for a unchangeable strategy of authorities and organization guardrails against the maltreatment of enforcement power,” the Africa Center for Strategic Studies said successful its review.
The predetermination run was marked by accusations of hatred speech, execution and corruption from the antithetic candidates — a inclination that could propulsion the state into crisis, according to Denise dos Santos Indeque, coordinator of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding successful Guinea-Bissau.
Mr. Embaló hinged his run connected infrastructural improvement including roads operation and the modernisation of the country’s main airport.
Mr. Dias, connected the different hand, promised to beforehand stability, freedoms and security. He accused Mr. Embaló’s authorities of “systematic” quality rights violations, urging radical to “vote for change, for nationalist unity, for reconciliation, for peace, and for an extremity to the authoritarian authorities successful Guinea-Bissau.”
In the superior of Bissau, nonmigratory Marinho Insoldé expressed optimism the predetermination result would amended conditions.
“I anticipation that these elections volition bring bid and tranquillity truthful that determination is nary much hunger,” said Mr. Insoldé.
