Author: freedom house
Site of publication: Freedomhouse.org
Type of publication: Report
Date of publication: 2023
Electoral Process
The president is elected through a two-round voting system for up to two consecutive terms of five years. The prime minister is appointed by the president “in accordance with the election results” after consulting with the parliamentary parties, and the government must be dissolved if the parliament rejects its proposed budget.
Umaro Sissoco Embaló of the Movement for Democratic Alternation (Madem G15) party and a coalition of opposition parties, won the December 2019 presidential election’s runoff with 53.6 percent of the vote, defeating Domingos Simões Pereira of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde (PAIGC), who won 46.4 percent of the vote. According to the National Election Commission (CNE), voter turnout was 72.7 percent.
The African Union’s (AU) election observation mission found that the administration of the runoff vote was free and transparent, despite challenges with the first round of voting. International bodies such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) acknowledged Embaló’s victory in April 2020. The Supreme Court ultimately rejected an appeal by Pereira that September.
In May 2022, President Embaló dissolved the parliament, accusing its members of corruption and citing “insurmountable differences” between the body and other branches of government. An interim government was appointed in June; the PAIGC, which could not reach an agreement with Embaló on taking part in a national unity executive, was excluded from the transitional government. New parliamentary elections were initially planned for December, but were later postponed until June 2023.
Political Pluralism and Participation
PAIGC leader and former presidential candidate Pereira was repeatedly prevented from leaving Guinea-Bissau on dubious grounds during 2022. The government initially claimed that Pereira was barred from leaving the country because he was the subject of an ongoing judicial investigation. However, authorities continued to prevent Pereira from leaving the country in September, even after a court order revoked earlier restraining measures that had required him to stay in Guinea-Bissau. Pereira was ultimately allowed to leave the country later that month.
The African Union’s (AU) election observation mission found that the administration of the runoff vote was free and transparent, despite challenges with the first round of voting. International bodies such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) acknowledged Embaló’s victory in April 2020. The Supreme Court ultimately rejected an appeal by Pereira that September
During 2022, the PAIGC was repeatedly blocked from holding a party conference, which was initially scheduled to be held in February. In February, PAIGC militant Bolom Conté legally challenged Pereira’s right to organize the congress, saying that his mandate as party leader had ended; the court sided with Conté, and issued an order forbidding the party to hold its congress. The court order was enforced in March when police violently raided PAIGC headquarters to prevent the congress from occurring, wounding at least seven people and arresting several others. Pereira accused President Embaló of pressuring the judiciary to block the congress, which was ultimately held in November and saw Pereira reelected as party leader.
In February 2022, while President Embaló was leading a cabinet meeting at the government palace, a group of armed men surrounded the building and opened fire. Officials reported that 11 people—mostly government security personnel—were killed during the alleged coup attempt. Several people were arrested in connection with the attack, which Embaló claimed was planned by drug traffickers. The trial of 25 people allegedly involved in the attack was initially scheduled to take place in December, but had been postponed as of year’s end.
Freedom of Expression and Belief
The constitution provides for freedom of the press, and there is some media diversity. However, journalists regularly face harassment and intimidation, including pressure regarding their coverage from political figures and government officials. Journalists and media facilities have been the target of violence.
In recent years, armed men—some dressed in military clothing—have repeatedly attacked the privately owned Radio Capital FM station, which is allied to the opposition PAIGC, vandalizing its offices and destroying broadcasting equipment. In one such attack in February 2022, several people were injured while fleeing from the assailants, who were firing weapons in the broadcaster’s office.
In July 2022, a Catholic church in the city of Gabú was vandalized by a group of unknown individuals. Though both Christian and Islamic groups in Guinea-Bissau condemned the attack, President Embaló controversially dismissed the crime as inconsequential. Police opened an investigation into the incident, but the perpetrators had not been held accountable as of December.
The constitution provides for freedom of the press, and there is some media diversity. However, journalists regularly face harassment and intimidation, including pressure regarding their coverage from political figures and government officials. Journalists and media facilities have been the target of violence
Associational and Organizational Rights
Freedom of assembly is frequently restricted. The authorities repeatedly interfere with demonstrations linked to the political tensions between the presidency and the legislature. The state of emergency enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic banned assemblies of more than 25 people during 2020. The restrictions were prolonged by President Embaló for most of 2021 and prevented protesters from gathering during a period of high political tension.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are generally able to operate. Some groups have faced intimidation and other obstacles, particularly those that are associated with street demonstrations.
Several activists who criticized the government reported facing harassment, arbitrary detentions, and physical assaults throughout 2021, including Luís Vaz Martins—a lawyer and the former president of the LGDH—who was the target of an assassination attempt that August. Martins accused the president of ordering the attack.
Workers are allowed to form and join independent trade unions, but few work in the wage-earning formal sector. Private employers sometimes engage in improper interference with union organizing and other activities. The right to strike is protected, and government workers frequently exercise it.