The government of Portugal today congratulated the PAI-Terra Ranka coalition, which won the legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau with an absolute majority, and reiterated its “firm will to continue supporting” Guinea-Bissau and “to deepen the excellent bilateral cooperation”.
In a statement published today on the diplomatic portal, the Portuguese government salutes “all the candidates and party forces” who stood in last Sunday’s Guinean legislative elections, and “congratulates the 102 members elected to the People’s National Assembly of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and the PAI-Terra Ranka coalition, which obtained the majority of parliamentary votes and was entrusted by the President of the Republic [Umaro Sissoco Embalo] to form the government under the conditions provided for by the Constitution”.
“Following the preliminary statement of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries’ Electoral Observation Mission on the legislative elections held on June 4 in Guinea Bissau, the results of which were announced today, the Portuguese government congratulates the people and institutions of Guinea Bissau for the exemplary and participatory manner in which the democratic electoral process was conducted,” the statement adds.
The government led by António Costa reiterates its “firm will and commitment to continue supporting Guinea-Bissau and to deepen the excellent cooperation and bilateral partnership that unites” the two countries, “reflecting the fraternal friendship” between the two peoples, it added.
The Inclusive Alliance Platform (PAI) – Terra Ranka coalition won Guinea-Bissau’s legislative elections with an absolute majority, obtaining 54 of the 102 seats in parliament, according to provisional results announced today by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).
The coalition is led by Domingos Simões Pereira, president of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which won the 2019 legislative elections with 47 deputies without a majority, and also includes the Union for Change, the Democratic Convergence Party, the Guinean Democratic Movement and the Social Democratic Party.
President Sissoco Embaló admitted today that he would appoint Domingos Simões Pereira as Prime Minister, after saying otherwise during the election campaign.
“I know what I said, but a politician must take a step back for the well-being of the nation,” said the head of state in a message to the nation at the presidential palace in Bissau.
Provisional results also show that the Movement for Democratic Alternation (Madem-G15), led by Braima Camará, won 29 deputies in the People’s National Assembly, two seats more than in 2019.
The Social Renovation Party (PRS) came third with 12 deputies, down sharply on the results of the last legislative elections, when it won 21 seats.
Madem-G15 and PRS had been part of the Guinean government since 2020, after Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló dismissed Prime Minister Aristides Gomes, who headed the PAIGC executive.
The Guinean Workers’ Party (PTG), created in late 2021 and led by Botche Candé, won six deputies in its electoral debut.
In the 2019 legislative elections, Botche Candé was elected PRS deputy and took over the Interior and Agriculture portfolios in the government, which is now stepping down.
The big loser in the legislative elections was the United People’s Assembly – Democratic Party of Guinea-Bissau, led by outgoing Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam, which won just one deputy, compared with the five it elected in 2019.
Nearly 900,000 Guinean voters were called to the polls on Sunday to choose the 102 new deputies of the People’s National Assembly, from which the formation of the next government will emerge after the dissolution of parliament by the Guinean president in May 2022.
