Looking Ahead: Guinea-Bissau’s Newly Elected President
In July 2009, the West African country of Guinea-Bissau went to the polls to choose a new president after the assassination of President Joao Bernardo Vieira. According to the country’s constitution the second round of voting was needed as no candidate won more than 50% of the ballots in the first round of elections in late June where ruling-party candidate Malam Bacai Sanha came out on top in the first round of voting with more than 39% of ballots cast and former president Kumba Yala finished second with more than 29%.
On July 29th, Malam Bacai Sanha was declared the winner of the presidential elections with 63% of the vote. International observers called both the first and second round of elections fair, transparent, peaceful and orderly, but sighted low voter turnout rates. In a country with voter turnout rates as high as 82% in the recent past the two most recent rounds of voting, with around 40-60% of voter turnout, fell short of the usual rates. However, given the fact that this was an emergency election and it is the rainy season, Bissau-Guineans made a good showing.
With a mixture of hope, gravitas and dramatic references to drug trafficking and historical violence, there were nearly 500 news stories on the elections in the month of July alone. Here are a few stories from around the world that capture the hope and challenges the people of Guinea-Bissau face as they look towards their future:
- Revolutionary Rap – Singing Out Against Political Violence in Guinea-Bissau and Voters Hope Worst is Over for Troubled African Nation from VOA
- Guinea Bissau Votes for Replacement President from New Tang Dynasty TV
- Calm Guinea-Bissau Votes To Replace Slain Leader from the Turkish Weekly
- Guinea-Bissau Votes for President from BBC
To learn more about our projects in Guinea-Bissau to prevent political violence and support peaceful elections, read our stories of success from the field.
To help us prevent the next war, take action today.
