Guinea-Bissau - June 2023

Guinea-Bissau held legislative elections in June, more than a year after President Umaro Sissoco Embaló ordered the legislature to be dissolved following an investigation into an attempted coup d’état. The election gave the opposition coalition of PAI-Terra Ranka, led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, PAIGC), a majority in the legislature as it took 54 of the 102 seats. President Embaló’s Madem-G15 party won 29 seats. The opposition victory likely means that President Embaló’s initiative to amend the constitution to move toward a presidential system will not move forward. Election observers from the African Union and Economic Community of West African States expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election. The election was a step back for gender equality in Guinea-Bissau, as only 11 women were elected (down from 13 in the last election) despite a gender quota that requires that at least 36 per cent of the members of the legislature are women.

Sources: Comissão Nacional de Eleições da Guiné-Bissau, African Union, Deutsche Welle, Reuters, AfricaNews, Radio France Internationale