2009 Guinea-Bissau presidential election

none 2009 Guinea-Bissau presidential election Guinea-Bissau presidential no 2005 Guinea-Bissau presidential election 2005 2012 Guinea-Bissau presidential election 2012 28 June 2009 (first round)26 July 2009 (second round) 593,765 60.01% (first round)61.09% (second round) 150x150px Malam Bacai Sanhá 2010-08-25.jpg Malam Bacai Sanhá African Independence Party of Guinea and Cape Verde 224,259 63.31% Koumbayala.jpg Kumba Ialá Party for Social Renewal 129,973 36.69% 300px First round results by region 300px Second round results by region 2 President Raimundo Pereira (acting) African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde Malam Bacai Sanhá African Independence Party of Guinea and Cape Verde Presidential elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 28 June 2009 following the assassination of President João Bernardo Vieira on 2 March 2009.Alberto Dabo, "Guinea-Bissau announces election date", Reuters (IOL), 1 April 2009. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a second round was held on 26 July 2009 between the two leading candidates, Malam Bacai Sanhá of the governing African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) and opposition leader Kumba Ialá."Guinea-Bissau presidential vote brought forward", AFP, 5 July 2009."Guinea-Bissau poll enters 2nd round", Sapa-AFP (IOL), 2 July 2009. Sanhá won with a substantial majority in the second round, according to official results."Ruling party candidate wins G.Bissau poll: official", AFP, 29 July 2009. Background At Vieira's funeral on 10 March 2009, interim President Raimundo Pereira said that meeting the 60-day deadline for holding a new election was "one of our greatest challenges."https://archive.today/20130103053918/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jVbjpa3xXBEt9Ar3GkVhkVTXHwnA "'Stop killing ourselves' plea at G Bissau leader's funeral", AFP, 10 March 2009. Cape Verde's Prime Minister, Jose Maria Neves, stated on 27 March 2009 that it was logistically and economically impossible for Guinea-Bissau to hold the election on time, and that it should aim to hold them in June or November (before or after the rain season).2009-03-27 Guinea-Bissau 'can't afford poll' en-GB https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7967614.stm 2023-02-27 2023-02-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20230227165018/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7967614.stm live Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior announced on 31 March that the election would be held on 28 June, with the agreement of "all the parties, the government, the interim president and political classes". Foreign donors paid the entire cost of the election, about 5.1 million euros.https://archive.today/20130124164348/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5glkSrUYsCDU-TZt22i6N6yvaH3vg "Guinea-Bissau votes after president's assassination", AFP, 28 June 2009. Candidates In April 2009, the Social Renewal Party (PRS), Guinea-Bissau's main opposition party, designated its President, Kumba Ialá (who was previously President of Guinea-Bissau from 2000 to 2003), as its candidate for the presidential election. Some in the party who opposed Ialá's "system of monopoly" instead proposed the candidacy of Baltizar Lopes Fernandes, but they were unsuccessful.https://archive.today/20120906182651/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iP6zo7tZOW8aAVvVJ3_iq-cldNzA "Bissau: Kumba Yala de nouveau candidat à la présidence", AFP, 14 April 2009. Six candidates sought the presidential nomination of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), the ruling party. PAIGC President Carlos Gomes Junior backed Pereira. On 25 April 2009, the PAIGC Central Committee chose Malam Bacai Sanhá, who was interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 1999 to 2000, as the party's presidential candidate. He received 144 votes, while Pereira received 118;"Guinée-Bissau: le candidat du parti au pouvoir investi pour la présidentielle", AFP, 25 April 2009 fr.PANAPRESS - PANAFRICAN News Agency - Official Web Site https://www.panapress.com/lang2-index.html 2023-02-27 Panafrican News Agency en another unsuccessful candidate for the nomination was former Prime Minister Manuel Saturnino Costa. Aristides Gomes, who was Prime Minister from 2005 to 2007 and led the Republican Party for Independence and Development (PRID), submitted a candidate application. Francisco Fadul, who was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000 and is currently the President of the Tribunal of Accounts, also submitted an application to stand as the candidate of his party, the African Party for Development and Citizenship (PADEC). Henrique Rosa, who was Interim President from 2003 to 2005, sought to run as an independent candidate, as did the Minister of Internal Administration, Baciro Dabó. In total, 20 candidates submitted applications to the Supreme Court of Justice, 13 representing political parties and seven independents."20 candidatos às eleições presidenciais na Guiné-Bissau" https://web.archive.org/web/20090804000758/http://www.panapress.com/freenewspor.asp?code=por004030&dte=29%2F04%2F2009 2009-08-04 , Pana, 29 April 2009 pt. Zinha Vaz ran as the candidate of the Guinean Patriotic Union (UPG), and was the only female candidate in the election. On 14 May, the Supreme Court announced that 12 candidacies had been approved and eight had been rejected. The candidacies of Sanhá, Ialá, and Rosa were among those accepted. Fadul's candidacy was rejected on the grounds that he was still President of the Tribunal of Accounts and a member of the Bar, which the Supreme Court judged to be legally incompatible with his presidential candidacy. The candidacy of Aristides Gomes was also rejected on the grounds that he had been out of the country during the 90 days before he filed his candidacy.https://archive.today/20130102234615/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h4IdMCCbrPM7FkeSugppwDez1ntg "Bissau: 12 candidats retenus pour la présidentielle, 8 exclus", AFP, 14 May 2009 fr. Prior to the election, three of the 11 remaining candidates were considered the key contenders for the Presidency: PAIGC candidate Sanhá, PRS candidate Ialá, and independent candidate Rosa.Fid Thompson, "Guinea-Bissau holds elections Sunday"June 2024 medicmedic, Associated Press, 26 June 2009. Campaign Doubting that Ialá would be able to garner much more support than he obtained in the first round, analysts judged that Sanhá was the clear favorite for the second round."FACTBOX-Candidates in Guinea-Bissau's presidential run-off", Reuters, 7 July 2009. Various minor candidates—Luis Nancassa, Paulo Mendonça, Francisca Vaz Turpin, and Braima Alfa Djalo—endorsed Sanhá after the first round. In mid-July, New Democracy Party candidate Iaia Djalo, who placed fourth with 3.11%, also urged his supporters to vote for Sanhá in the second round."Djalo joins Sanha for second round of Guinea-Bissau vote" https://web.archive.org/web/20130514205015/http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/africa/Djalo-joins-Sanha-for-second-round-Guinea-Bissau-vote,56dbdc76-7dcd-46c3-8fcb-119562e048e9.html 2013-05-14 , AngolaPress, 16 July 2009. During the second round campaign, Ialá blamed PAIGC for Guinea-Bissau's problems and alleged that it was responsible for Vieira's assassination. Warning against the use of such inflammatory rhetoric, the army stressed that it would not allow national stability to be endangered."Bissau votes in presidential run-off", AFP (IOL), 25 July 2009. Conduct On 5 June, one day before election campaigning was due to start, Dabó was fatally shot in his home, possibly in order to prevent him from ordering a prosecution against President Vieira's killers if he won the election. Bissau poll candidate shot dead BBC 5 June 2009 https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8084525.stm 5 June 2009 6 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090606171031/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8084525.stm live It was nevertheless decided that the election would proceed as planned on 28 June. Another independent candidate, Paulo Mendonça, said that the election could not legally go ahead on schedule because the constitution required a delay in case of the death of a candidate, and he took the matter to the Supreme Court."Guinea-Bissau keeps to poll plan", BBC News, 9 June 2009. Rosa said that his campaign would be initially subdued and would not begin in earnest until seven days after Dabó's death."Guinea-Bissau candidates keep it low-key after killings", AFP, 10 June 2009. Turnout was reportedly low when voting took place on 28 June. Electoral observers from the European Union were present at 80 of the 2,700 polling stations, and the head of the EU mission, Johan Van Hecke, said that "rain played a role" but that it was not solely to blame for the low turnout. He also said that voting proceeded "in a calm and orderly way" and that "not a single incident or complaint was reported to us". Results thumb|Voters cast their ballots on June 28, 2009. VOA photo Desejado Lima da Costa, the head of the National Electoral Commission, announced provisional results on 2 July 2009. These results showed Sanhá with 133,786 votes or 39.59% of the vote, Ialá with 99,428 votes or 29.42%, and Rosa with 24.19%; turnout was around 60%, with 593,782 of the nation's 1.4 million eligible voters participating.Guinea-Bissau presidential race heads for second round https://web.archive.org/web/20090804235822/http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/6692574.html 2009-08-04 People's Daily Online, 3 July 2009 As a result, Sanhá and Ialá were to proceed to a second round on 2 August. Although Rosa was positioned to make a potentially crucial endorsement for the second round, he declined to do so.https://archive.today/20120731100236/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gOygC9cMT5YwLpvZESEg4VomqFgw "Guinea-Bissau poll goes to second round: official", AFP, 2 July 2009. The National Electoral Commission announced on 5 July that the second round date was being moved forward from 2 August to 26 July, as the latter date was deemed more compatible with the agricultural harvest season. On 25 July, Sanhá and Ialá agreed that they would both respect the results of the second round and that any dispute over the results would be handled through the legal process. They also agreed that the losing candidate would enjoy various privileges as a former head of state, including personal security and transportation. Following the second round on 26 July, the National Electoral Commission announced on 29 July that Sanhá had won with 63.52% of the vote (224,259 votes), while Ialá received 36.48%. Turnout was placed at 61%. Ialá said that he accepted the results, urging Sanhá "to work for the development of Guinea-Bissau". Guinea-Bissau to hold elections this June Malam Bacai Sanhá African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde 133786 224259 Mohamed Ialá Embaló Party for Social Renewal 99428 129973 Henrique Pereira Rosa Independent 81751 Mamadú Iaia Djaló New Democracy Party 10495 João Gomes Cardoso Independent 4115 Serifo Baldé Young Party 1794 Aregado Mantenque Té Workers' Party 1736 Ibraima Djaló Independent 1489 Zinha Vaz Guinean Patriotic Union 1219 Luís Nancassa Independent 1195 Paulo Mendonça Independent 949 18383 8504 593765 593765 African Elections Database References 2 Guinea-Bissau Presidential election Guinea-Bissau presidential election Guinea-Bissau presidential election Category:Presidential elections in Guinea-Bissau