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Guinea-Bissau Counts Votes After High-Turnout Election as Embalo Seeks Second Term

Provisional results are due Thursday, with PAIGC’s exclusion heightening questions over the vote’s fairness.

Overview

  • Presidential and legislative elections were held Sunday, and counting began after polls closed at 1700 GMT.
  • Turnout exceeded 65%, according to electoral commission spokesperson Idrissa Diallo, who said provisional tallies will be released on Thursday.
  • President Umaro Sissoco Embalo faces his strongest challenge from Fernando Dias, and a runoff will be held if no candidate surpasses 50% of votes.
  • The Supreme Court barred the PAIGC and its leader Domingos Simoes Pereira for late filings, a decision the opposition casts as manipulation.
  • Authorities deployed more than 6,780 security personnel including ECOWAS forces and closed air, land and sea borders for the day, as experts caution that disputes often flare after elections.