Rivals both claim victory in Guinea-Bissau presidential election

Incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and independent candidate Fernando Dias both claimed victory in Guinea-Bissau’s presidential elections held over the weekend, as the country awaits the results.

Dias, seen as the main contender in the election, congratulated voters for participating in the polls, saying on Monday that it was a demonstration of the will for change, the independent online newspaper O Democrata GB reported.

“We already have our data and we know what the result is. This election was won in the first round. We are just waiting for the competent entity (electoral body) to confirm,” the report said.

Twelve candidates were in the race for president.

‘No runoff’

Separately, Oscar Barbosa, a spokesman for the Embalo campaign, told reporters in the capital, Bissau, that their candidate had won and that “there would be no runoff.”

The electoral commission has promised to announce the final outcome of the election by Thursday.

It warned voters, candidates, political parties, electoral coalitions and the media against announcing any results.

The independent candidate claimed his candidacy obtained an advantage in almost all regions. Earlier, he denounced alleged attempts to interfere in the electoral tallying process.

Dias has the backing of former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, who was Embalo’s main challenger in a runoff election in 2019.

Challenger disqualified

Pereira, of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which led the nationalist movement for independence from Portugal in 1974, was disqualified from participation this year after authorities said he filed his papers late.

About half of Guinea-Bissau's 2.2 million people were eligible to vote in the elections.

Voter turnout was put at more than 65%.

On Monday, a coalition of electoral observers including those from the African Union urged all parties to wait for the official announcement of results.

The Head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Election Observation Mission to Guinea-Bissau for the general elections held on November 23, Ghana’s Ambassador Baba Kamara, said the electoral process went well.

International observers

More than 200 international observers were in the country to monitor the electoral process, including from ECOWAS, the African Union and from the community of Portuguese speaking countries.

Since taking office in 2020, there were several reports of coup attempts against Embalo, a demonstration of the deep-rooted rivalry he faced.