President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau officially postponed the country’s legislative elections scheduled for November 24, leaving the nation in political limbo. The vote, intended to stabilise the small, Portuguese-speaking West African country, has been put off indefinitely as logistical and financial challenges hinder progress.
Embalo, who dissolved parliament in December 2023 after armed clashes he described as an attempted coup, had originally set the November date to re-establish a functioning legislature.
Yet, on Monday, Embalo cancelled the July 2024 decree setting the election timeline, a move confirmed by his adviser Fernando Delfim da Silva, with no new date announced.
The delay reflects ongoing instability in Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest nations, which has seen a series of coups since its independence from Portugal. A coalition led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which has opposed Embalo, had held a parliamentary majority since June 2023, forcing a difficult “cohabitation” with the president.
Despite recent moves towards constitutional stability, financial constraints and political divisions continue to strain the path to new elections and leave the date for a presidential election in question.
