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West Africa: Guinea Bissau - ECOWAS Hails Vote Seeking End to Instability
DW, 4 June 2023
Some 200 international observers were on hand to monitor this year's proceedings for a single round vote based on proportional representation to elect 102 lawmakers. Read more »
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Guinea Bissau: Polls Close in Legislative Election
DW, 4 June 2023
Nearly 900,000 voters in Guinea-Bissau were eligible to cast their ballot on Sunday. The prime minister speculated that no party would win an absolute majority in the election. Read more »
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Guinea Bissau: Elections in Guinea-Bissau - the Eternal Search for Stability
DW, 2 June 2023
Over 890,000 voters are called upon to elect a new Parliament in Guinea-Bissau this Sunday. The elections are taking place in a deeply divided country where basic democratic rights… Read more »
Eternal Search for Stability in Guinea-Bissau as Elections Held
Close to a million people were eligible to cast their votes in elections in Guinea-Bissau. However, many of those going to the polls are wondering what purpose elections even serve as the country plunges from one crisis to the next.
The latest legislative elections in the democratic history of the country took place on Sunday June 4, 2023 - several months after the original deadline specified by electoral law.
Deutsche Welle reports that Guinea-Bissau's current dillemma began with a power struggle between President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and Parliament at the beginning of 2022. Embaló wanted deputies to approve his proposal for a constitutional revision, which would make the president also head of government - as is the case in the majority of constitutions of ECOWAS countries.
However, Parliament rejected the constitutional amendments proposed by the president, which is how yet another institutional crisis began in the country, according to political analyst Rui Jorge Semedo.
Radio stations have suffered attacks, houses of political commentators have been vandalised, activists have been beaten, bloggers have been reportedly kidnapped and tortured. Those who dare to criticise the regime - including the opposition - fear that their own homes may be the next target.
