BISSAU, Guinea Bissau
A coalition of opposition groups won a majority of seats in Guinea Bissau’s parliament, beating the ruling party in the country’s first legislative elections since the president dissolved the National People’s Assembly more than a year ago, according to results announced Thursday.
The results from the weekend
vote were announced by the national electoral committee, which said the
five-party Terra Ranka coalition won 54 of parliament’s 102 seats. The ruling
party, MADEM G-15, placed second with 29 seats.
In the previous parliament,
the main opposition party, The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and
Cape Verde (PAIGC), held the majority. It is now part of the coalition along
with main opposition party PAIGC.
Guinea-Bissau is a small
nation that gained independence from Portugal nearly five decades ago. The
country has endured continued political turmoil, including multiple coups,
since then.
President Umaro Sissoco
Embalo, a former army general, took office in February 2020 after he was
declared the winner of a runoff election. He survived a coup
attempt two years later when assailants armed with machine guns and
AK-47s attacked the government palace.
Embalo has consolidated his
grip on power since his controversial
inauguration. He’s cracked down on civic freedoms, while government bodies
have lost significant independence, according to analysts. He dissolved
parliament in May 2022 and postponed the legislative elections originally
scheduled for the following December.
While there were concerns of
unrest if MADEM G-15 did not secure a majority in Sunday’s election, the
capital appeared calm as people celebrating on the streets Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference
after the results were announced, the ruling party’s president, Braima Camara,
said he called the opposition to offer congratulations. “The people elected me
to be in opposition and we are going to be in opposition to do our job,” Camara
said.
The head of Terra Ranka,
Domingos Simoes Pereira, said the win meant the coalition parties now had a
huge responsibility on their shoulders.
The results could be good for
democracy and might provide some stability, according to analysts.
“This significantly
strengthens the hand of the opposition coalition and leaves the ruling party
weakened,” said Lucia Bird Ruiz Benitez de Lugo, director of the West Africa
Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
The big question now is who
will be appointed prime minister and how it will impact the government going
forward, she said.
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