President Embalo of Guinea Bissau has declared that he will not seek a second term

Guinea Bissau’s President, Umaro Cissoko Embalo, declared on Thursday that he would not seek a second term in the upcoming November elections.

In January 2020, Embalo, 51, was elected to succeed the outgoing president, Jose Mario Vaz. He secured 54% of the vote, defeating the runner-up, Domingos Simoes Pereira, and would have been eligible for an additional term in office.

The unexpected announcement has the potential to exacerbate political instability and create a power vacuum in the coup-prone country, which is home to approximately two million individuals.

Embalo disclosed that his spouse had discouraged him from pursuing another candidacy following the conclusion of a council of ministers on Thursday evening.

He stated that his successor would not be Pereira nor two other opposition politicians, Braima Camara and Nuno Gomes Na Bian, without providing further details or designating a successor.

Embalo, an ex-army general who served as prime minister under Vaz, inherited a protracted political impasse in a nation where coups and disturbances have been prevalent since their independence from Portugal in 1974.

According to Embalo, there were two attempts to overthrow him during his presidency, with the most recent occurring in December 2023.

Days later, he dissolved parliament for the second time since assuming authority.

Embalo’s intentions to implement a constitutional amendment that would have enabled him to consolidate his authority by eliminating the country’s semi-presidential system were foiled by the legislative elections that transpired subsequent to his initial dissolution of parliament in May 2022.

The government is appointed by the majority party or coalition under the current political system. However, the president has the authority to revoke it in specific circumstances, which frequently results in political gridlock and unrest.

In the 2000s, the nation also became a significant center for cocaine trafficking, according to experts. On Saturday, law enforcement confiscated 2.63 tons of cocaine that was discovered on an aircraft that had arrived from Venezuela.