Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Cissoko Embalo announced on Thursday that he will not seek re-election in the upcoming November elections.
Elected in January 2020, Embalo, 51, succeeded José Mário Vaz and defeated Domingos Simões Pereira with 54% of the vote.
His decision not to run for a second term could create a power vacuum and increase political instability in the coup-prone nation of around two million people.
In a statement following a council of ministers meeting, Embalo cited his wife’s influence in his decision.
He specified that his successor would not be opposition figures Domingos Simões Pereira, Braima Camara, or Nuno Gomes Na Bian, but did not provide further details or name a potential successor.
Embalo, a former army general and ex-prime minister, inherited a political stalemate in a country frequently troubled by coups and unrest since its independence from Portugal in 1974.
During his presidency, Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Cissoko Embalo faced two coup attempts, the most recent occurring in December 2023.
In response, he dissolved parliament for the second time.
Previously, after dissolving parliament in May 2022, legislative elections thwarted his attempt to change the constitution and consolidate power by eliminating the country’s semi-presidential system.
Guinea-Bissau’s political system allows the majority party or coalition to appoint the government, but the president can dismiss it under specific conditions, leading to frequent political deadlock.
Additionally, the country became a significant cocaine trafficking hub in the 2000s. Recently, police seized 2.63 tons of cocaine from an airplane arriving from Venezuela.
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