Guinea Bissau President Elections Scheduled For November 24

A presidential decree has set the date for elections in Guinea Bissau as November 24 2019. If no one candidate secures a majority of votes in the presidential poll a run-off is likely to follow in December.

There are currently 49 political parties registered and eligible to contest the polls, which will see incumbent President Jose Mario Vaz run for a second term in office. In the 2014 polls Vaz won 40.9% of the votes in the first round, followed by 61.9% of the vote in the second round.

The election could see political tensions rise as Vaz has been in dispute with his former prime minister and African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) party colleague Domingos Simoes Pereira since 2015. Pereira continues to command significant support both within parliament and on the streets, leading protests against the government.

In the recent legislative elections held in March of this year the ruling PAIGC won 47 of the 102 seats in parliament. The party has secured a majority though a coalition with the Assembly of the People United, the New Democracy Party and the Union for Change.