Credit:Zeljko Heimer (FOTW Flags Of The World website at flagspot.net)

Election Date: November 16, 2008

At stake: People’s National Assembly

Background

Guinea-Bissau became independent from Portugal in 1974. Luís de Almeida Cabral and his African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) ruled the country until 1980, when military strongman João Vieira seized power in a coup. Vieira introduced economic measures that briefly made the country a model for African nations, but corruption and autocracy were still rampant.

After winning the country’s first free elections in 1994, Vieira was ousted, and a brutal civil war gripped the West African nation in the late 1990s. During the conflict, hundreds of people were killed and thousands were displaced.

Guinea-Bissau is now one of the world’s least developed nations—with an average per capita income of $500 U.S. a year in 2007—and relies heavily on foreign aid. Only 42.2 per cent of the population can read and write—most of them are men.

In 2000, Kumba Ialá of the Party for Social Renewal (PRS) won the presidential election in a run-off. Despite democratic efforts, stability proved unreachable as Ialá faced a rebellion by a military junta and an attempted coup. The president led a mostly unstable administration, as he appointed and fired five different prime ministers and changed cabinet members 50 times.

In November 2002, Ialá called for early elections after a dispute with prime minister Faustino Imbali over the country’s tax system. The vote was postponed several times. On Sept. 14, 2003, a group led by army chief of staff Veríssimo Correia Seabre staged a bloodless coup and took control of the country. Correia declared himself "interim president" and promised to turn power over to a civilian administration.

In October 2003, a 16-member transitional cabinet was introduced. Businessman Henrique Rosa and PRS secretary general Artur Antonio Sanhá were appointed as president and prime minister respectively. Two members of the ousted regime—defence minister Filomena Mascarenha Tipote and social amenities minister Dionisio Cabi—kept their portfolios.

In March 2004, Guinea-Bissau renewed the People’s National Assembly in an election that resulted in a victory for the PAIGC. The party formed a minority government with 45 lawmakers.The PRS was second with 35 seats.

In May, Carlos Gomes Junior substituted Sanhá as prime minister.

Click here for Guinea-Bissau 2004 Legislative Assembly Election Tracker

A presidential election took place in July 2005. The PRS chose former president Ialá as its nominee. More than 30,000 voters signed a petition to register João Vieira, who orchestrated the 1980 coup, as a presidential candidate. The PAIGC picked Malam Bacai Sanhá—who lost the run-off to Ialá in 2000—as its candidate.

After a troubled run-off vote, Vieira—who had been endorsed by lalá—was declared winner with 52.35 per cent of all cast ballots. Bacai Sanhá and the PAIGC at first refused to accept the results.

Click here for Guinea-Bissau 2005 Presidential Election Tracker

In October 2005, Vieira dismissed the government of Gomes Junior and appointed Aristides Gomes—a long-time member of the PAIGC—as prime minister.

In March 2007, the country’s three major political parties signed a unity pact, which was followed by a vote in the legislature to censure Gomes’s government. The prime minister resigned and was replaced by Martinho Ndafa Kabi, a PAIGC member who had served as minister of energy and defence.

2008 People’s National Assembly Election

The next legislative election is scheduled for Nov. 16.

In February 2008, the opposition African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) withdrew its backing for prime minister Martinho Ndafa Kabi, who was sworn it in April 2007. PAIGC officials said Kabi had shown a lack of respect in fulfilling his duties, and that the decision came to "avoid acts of indiscipline threatening cohesion and unity in the party".

On Jun. 25, the United Nations (UN) Security Council urged the government of Guinea-Bissau and all parties to "ensure an environment conducive to free and fair elections," and commanded the efforts by the African Union, the Economic Community if African States (ECOWAS) and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) to promote peace in the country.

On the same date, the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime also expressed concern over the fact that Guinea-Bissau has become a major port of entry for illegal drugs into West Africa. Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the agency, said that this is an "acute threat" to the regional security in West Africa.

A restructuring plan—which the government has estimated at $184 million U.S.—aims to reduce the armed forces to only 2,500 members. The same plan, which the government hops foreign donors will fund, will overhaul the police and judiciary.

Foreign donors have urged the government to reform the country’s military force, which is the remnant of the old guerrilla group that attained Guinea-Bissau’s independence. Most of the army is made up of high-ranking officials over the age of 60, and they have practically no equipment to defend the country’s borders, among other things.

In late June, Juan Esteban Verástegui—a Spanish general and the leader of the European Union (EU) security reform team charged with helping Guinea-Bissau’s military become a formal defence force—commented on the proposals to accomplish the transformation, saying, "It is not an impossible mission. Everyone has told them that either they do this, or it’s going to be very difficult for Guinea-Bissau to receive investments if there is no stability."

On Aug, 5, Carlos Correia substituted Ndafa Kabi as prime minister. Correia—who had served as head of government from December 1991 to October 1994, and then from June 1997 to December 1998—is a German-trained agricultural engineer and a member of the PAIGC.

On Oct. 15, the United Nations (UN) Security Council welcomed Guinea-Bisau’s commitment to hold the election, but called on political parties, the security forces and civil society to “ensure free, fair and transparent voting.”

President - Jun. 19 and Jul. 24, 2005

People’s National Assembly - Mar. 28, 2004
(Results from 100 of 102 constituencies)

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