The Guinea Bissau’s electoral commission on Wednesday announced two former prime ministers have advanced to a presidential run-off vote, reported Reuters.
Former Prime Ministers Domingos Simoes Pereira and Umaro Sissoco Embalo will compete with each other in a December 29 runoff election to decide who will be the next president of Guinea-Bissau.
More than 760,000 voters had registered to take part in the poll held last week, which was contested by 12 candidates. According to the first-round results announced by commission president Jose Pedro Sambu on Wednesday, Pereira won 40 percent of the vote and Embalo won 27 percent of the vote.
The incumbent Jose Mario Vaz finished a distant fourth after his tenure as the president was marked by infighting and corruption scandals. Vaz, in power since 2014, received only 12 percent of the vote.
As neither Pereira nor Embalo passed the 50% required winning the presidency outright, they will face off in a second round.
“The elections were just, free and transparent,” Pereira, who was Vaz’s first prime minister before being sacked in 2015, told reporters. “We are satisfied with the results. I salute Umaro Embalo Cissoko, my second-round opponent, whom I respect.”
Cipriano Cassama, the current parliament speaker and a member of Pereira’s majority party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), said while the party is disappointed with not winning the first round outright, it is hopeful of taking home more votes in the second round.
Meanwhile, Embalo, 47, told a news conference that according to his camp’s vote count showed it to be a close-fought race. As per his own team’s calculations, he received 36% and Pereira 38% of the vote.
“I will win the second round and will lead a crusade against drug trafficking and corruption,” he said.
The next round of campaigning will begin on December 13.
