President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau has announced he will not run for a second term in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for November 2025. His unexpected decision, made public on 11 September 2024, comes just two months before the vote, heightening political uncertainty in the already volatile West African nation.
Embaló, who assumed office in 2020, has had a tumultuous presidency, surviving two coup attempts, the most recent of which occurred in mid-2023. Guinea-Bissau has been dogged by political instability since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, with a history of coups and political upheavals.
The president did not give a comprehensive explanation for his decision to step down, stating only that it was made at the request of his wife. His presidency saw him dissolve the country’s Parliament twice, as he struggled to secure the majority needed to implement key reforms, including a constitutional change aimed at revising Guinea-Bissau’s semi-presidential system.
While Embaló refrained from naming a successor, he ruled out his main political rivals—Domingos Simões Pereira, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, and Braima Camara—saying, “None of them will replace me.”
However, in an interview with JA magazine, Embaló hinted that he might reconsider his decision, leaving the door open to a potential change of heart.