‘The General’ wins presidency in one of Africa’s most volatile states
- Umaro Cissoko Embalo, who was prime minister from 2016 to 2018, won the run-off vote against another former premier, Domingos Simoes Pereira
- Guinea Bissau has seen 16 coups or attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974
Former prime minister and ex-army general Umaro Cissoko Embalo has won Guinea-Bissau’s presidential vote, the electoral commission said, but his opponent complained of fraud and vowed to contest the result in court.
Embalo, 47, won with 54 per cent of Sunday’s vote, the commission said, versus 46 per cent for another ex-prime minister and ruling party candidate Domingos Simoes Pereira in the poll to succeed incumbent President Jose Mario Vaz.
Vaz’s tenure was marred by political infighting, an ill-functioning parliament and corruption.
If Pereira’s challenge fails, Embalo, who served as prime minister under Vaz from 2016-18, faces the difficult task of overcoming a long-running political impasse and modernising the West African nation of 1.6 million people.
Guinea Bissau has seen 16 coups or attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974. Four succeeded.
Embalo is nicknamed “The General”, a reference to his rank as a reserve brigadier general. He quit the army in the 1990s.