Guinea-Bissau - 2008 Elections + Coup
Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world. The majority of the country's citizens do not have access to clean water, electricity or adequate sanitation facilities. This provoked a cholera epidemic in October 2008. Prior to the elections, the government was reportedly unable to pay public servants' salaries in a timely manner. High food and fuel prices further worsened the country's fragile economy. Official corruption and lack of transparency were endemic at all levels of government. Members of the military and civilian administration reportedly assisted international drug cartels by providing access to the country and its transportation facilities. Customs officers frequently accepted bribes for not collecting import taxes, which greatly reduced government revenues.
Guinea-Bissau is a multiparty republic with a population of approximately 1.7 million. The 2008 elections were seen as a crucial step towards securing stability in the country of 1.6 million inhabitants. The United Nations, the European Union (EU) as well as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) helped defray the cost of the elections (US$ 8 million).
In 2005 Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira defeated the candidate of the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) to become president. Legislative elections on 16 November 2008 were characterized by international observers as transparent and well organized. Civilian authorities did not maintain effective control of the security forces; members of the military launched what appeared to be failed coup attempts on August 8 and November 23. On November 23, two presidential guards died during an apparent military coup attempt. On December 1, in Dakar, Senegalese police arrested Alexandre Tchama Yala, the suspected leader of the coup.
The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, the following problems occurred: arbitrary killings; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; lack of judicial independence and due process; interference with privacy; harassment of journalists; widespread official corruption, exacerbated by suspected government involvement in drug trafficking, and impunity; violence and discrimination against women; female genital mutilation (FGM); child trafficking; restrictions on legal strikes and use of force on strikers; and child labor, including some forced labor.
On 5 August 2008, President Vieira dissolved parliament without specifying the reason. The following day, Rear-Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto was placed under house arrest for allegedly plotting a coup. RADM Na Tchuto fled the country and was subsequently detained in Gambia. The Constitution provides for the dismissal of the government when parliament is dissolved, and President Vieira appointed Mr. Carlos Correia as the new Prime Minister. His cabinet, sworn in on 9 August, comprised the PAIGC, the PRS, the Republican Party for Independence and Development (PRID), as well as the United People's Alliance (APU). The PRID had been formed in March 2008 by PAIGC dissidents supporting President Vieira, and was led by former prime minister Aristides Gomes.
In the November 16 legislative elections, the PAIGC gained 22 seats in the National Assembly to become the ruling party with 67 of 100 seats. The Party for Social Reform (PRS), headed by former president Koumba Yala, won 28 seats, a loss of seven. The Republican Party for Independence and Development, founded in February with tacit support from President Vieira, who previously headed the PAIGC, won three seats. Unlike in previous elections, no violence occurred, and allegations of vote buying were not substantiated, although international observers noted technical irregularities, such as inconsistent sealing of ballot boxes and a lack of vehicles to transport ballots to regional polling centers. In October election workers declared a strike due to the government's failure to pay at least 80 percent of back wages and debts owed to workers, vendors, and contractors from the 2005 presidential election. Election workers returned to their jobs by the end of the month after being promised that salaries would be paid in 2009.
The November 16 elections were originally scheduled for April 2008 as a result of the formation of a government of national unity in March 2007 that included the PAIGC, the PRS, and the United Social Democratic Party. However, on March 25, citing inadequate preparation, President Vieira rescheduled the elections for November 16. The president added that the role of parliament would be filled by the National Assembly's standing committee once the legislature's mandate expired on April 21. On March 27, the National Assembly responded by passing an exceptional transitional constitutional law that extended its mandate until the November 16 elections. On July 25, the PAIGC pulled out of the coalition government. On August 1, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the exceptional transitional constitutional law. The ruling, which was welcomed by civil society organizations, prompted President Vieira to dissolve the National Assembly on August 5. In a decree published on the same day, the president dismissed the government and appointed a new prime minister to set up a caretaker government to oversee the legislative elections.
More than 20 parties and coalitions contested the 2008 elections. Major contenders were the PAIGC, led by former prime minister Carlos Gomes Júnior; former president Yala's PRS; and the PRID of former prime minister Aristide Gomes, a close ally of the President. Other parties included another breakaway party from the PRS, the National Democratic Party (PND), and the Alliance of Patriotic Forces (AFP), which had won one seat in the 2004 elections. The PAIGC was widely expected to win a landslide victory. Many parties initially focused on traditional election issues, promising to provide a stronger economy, better health care and education and more reliable energy supplies. In the run-up to the polls, however, drug trafficking became a major issue after former president Yala (PRS) accused President Vieira of being the country's No. 1 drug trafficker Other parties accused their rivals of being directly or indirectly involved in illicit activities. Guinea-Bissau is considered a hub of drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe. In early October, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon invited the Security Council to consider imposing sanctions on those responsible for drug trafficking in the country.
Members of the military launched what appeared to be failed coup attempts on August 8 and November 23. In August authorities reported that they had uncovered an attempted coup, allegedly organized by Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, the Navy chief of staff. While the motive and seriousness of the coup attempt remained in question, observers noted that Na Tchuto, long suspected of involvement in narcotrafficking, may have acted to preempt incrimination in the July offloading of narcotics from a plane from Venezuela held at the airport in Bissau. Na Tchuto was suspended and kept under house arrest, but subsequently escaped. On August 12, authorities in The Gambia reported that they had arrested him. Na Tchuto was later released and reportedly was moving freely and openly in Banjul, The Gambia.
On November 23, two days after the announcement of the official election results, low-ranking sailors and soldiers fired on the home of President Vieira. While the president was unharmed, one person was killed.
On 22 December, the newly elected People's National Assembly held its first session and elected Mr. Raimundo Pereira (PAIGC) as its new Speaker. On 2 January 2009, Mr. Carlos Gomes Júnior (PAIGC) was sworn in as Prime Minister. On 2 March, President Vieira was assassinated by a group of soldiers. The following day, Speaker Pereira was sworn in as Acting President, tasked with organizing presidential elections within two months.
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