The parliamentary elections are the first since President Embalo dissolved parliament more than a year ago.
A coalition of opposition groups in Guinea-Bissau won a majority of parliamentary seats in the first parliamentary elections since President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved the National People’s Assembly more than a year ago.
The five-party Terra Ranka — a coalition led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) — won 54 of 102 seats in Sunday’s polls, ahead of Embalo’s Madem G15 party, which won 29 seats, according to the results. . This was announced by the Electoral Commission on Thursday.
The Social Renewal Party (PRS) won 12 seats, the Workers’ Party six seats and the People’s Assembly one seat.
More than 20 political parties and coalitions competed for seats in the elections that will restore parliament after a 13-month absence.
Under the current political system, the majority party or coalition appoints the government, but the president has the power to dismiss it in certain circumstances.
This has led to political impasse and power struggles in the past.
The small West African state has also faced chronic instability in the form of repeated coups and contested election results.
But Sunday’s vote received a clean statement from about 200 international observers, who said they had not observed any major incident and described the vote as “free, transparent and calm”.
The outcome is a blow to Embalo, who took office in 2020, as it marks the end of his plans to pass a constitutional amendment that would have allowed him to consolidate power by freeing the country from its semi-presidential system.
Embalo dissolved the National Assembly in May 2022 after falling out with lawmakers, describing the legislature as a “space for guerrilla politics and plots”.
He acknowledged the setback in a speech to the nation after the election results were announced.
“My party failed. The people have punished it,” he said, congratulating the winning coalition.
The country of nearly 2 million people has seen regular political unrest with at least 10 coups or attempted coups since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974.
In February 2022, there was an attempt to overthrow Embalo.
Analysts said Embalo’s electoral setback was caused by divisions within his party and unpopularity among rural voters hit by falling prices of cashews, a major source of income.
The aftershocks of the war in Ukraine, which has driven up global food prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely affected the country’s economy.
According to the United Nations, a fifth of the population does not get enough to eat.