Guinea-Bissau’s President Embalo Announces Bid for Re-Election

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, President of Guinea-Bissau, will seek re-election after the elections were postponed to November. He remains confident in winning a second term. His tenure has faced opposition claims of expiration and political challenges, leading to strikes that were subdued by security forces. The elections are currently scheduled for November 30.

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the President of Guinea-Bissau, announced on Monday his intention to seek re-election, following the postponement of elections to November due to issues related to logistics and finances. In a statement to an AFP correspondent upon his return from a state visit to Russia, he expressed confidence in his candidacy, stating, “I will be a candidate, without a doubt, and I am going to win right from the first round.”

Embalo, who took office on February 27, 2020, completed a controversial election process and is now facing opposition allegations regarding the expiry of his term. The opposition has claimed that his presidential term ended last Thursday, which prompted a strike led by various opposition groups; however, the influence of this strike was curtailed by security forces in Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau, a nation with a historical backdrop of political instability following its independence from Portugal in 1974, has experienced numerous coups over the decades. In December 2023, President Embalo decided to dissolve the parliament, controlled by opposition parties, after incidents he termed as an attempted coup. While he had initially planned for early legislative elections in November 2024, these have since been postponed indefinitely, with the current elections now slated for November 30.

In summary, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has declared his candidacy for re-election amid political strife and opposition challenges in Guinea-Bissau. Despite the controversies surrounding his presidency and opposition claims regarding the end of his term, he is determined to secure another term in the forthcoming elections, now set for November 30.

Original Source: newscentral.africa