Guinea Bissau: Election Race Heats Up

It’s less than a week before voters head to the polls in Guinea Bissau where they’ll choose the country’s next president.

The incumbent, President Jose Mario Vaz, is the country’s first democratically elected president to finish his term, but is up against some of the country’s political heavyweights, including former prime ministers Carlos Gomes Jr and Domignos Simoes Pereira.

The president’s campaign spokesman Henry Mane said people should vote for Vaz so he can continue his programme of reforms.

“In the country, corruption was at the highest level.  Drug trafficking, with collaboration of a lot of people, was installed at the highest level, we needed to fight that.  We needed to make reforms, but reforms are not easy”, he said.

But Vaz’s tenure in office has not all been plain sailing.

In 2015 he sacked Pereira as prime minister, causing a political stalemate that saw no legislation passed in parliament for years.

The deadlock was only broken when the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stepped in to mediate talks between the two parties.

ECOWAS has been vital in ensuring the 24th November date the election is respected and the democratic process has not been derailed.

Researcher from ECOWAS, Vincent Foucher, spoke about how important the international community has been in bringing this election about, as well as the legislative elections.

He said “there is a very strong leadership by ECOWAS, which these last few years has been basically enjoying the support of most of their international partners… there’s a sense that, OK, ECOWAS owns this”.

It is hoped that the election will maintain the country on its democratic path and give it a functioning government once again.