Guinea-Bissau

Country Profile
Guinea-Bissau officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa which is divided into 8 Regions and 1 Autonomous Sector.

Capital                                             Bissau
Currency                                         West African CFA Franc
Population                                       1.7 Million ( 2010 Estimate)
Official Language                             Portuguese

 History
In 1951 Guinea-Bissau declared a province of Portugal.
In 1956 Amilcar Cabral establishes the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC)


In 1974 formerly Portuguese Guinea, Guinea-Bissau won independence from Portugal  after a long struggle spearheaded by the left-wing African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). Portugal grants Guinea-Bissau independence with Luis Cabral, Amilcar Cabral's brother, as President.

In 1980 Luis Cabral ousted in military coup led by Joao Bernardo Vieira.

In 1994 Joao Bernardo Vieira chosen as president in Guinea-Bissau's first free election.



Government
Guinea-Bissau is a Semi-Presidential Representative Democratic Republic with President as the Head of State and the Prime Minister as Head of Govt.Executive Power is exercised by the government The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The prime minister is appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature.

 National People's Assembly

Legislative Power is vested in both the Govt. and the National People's Assembly.
The National People's Assembly has 102 members, elected for  a  4  - year term in multi-member constituencies.

Guinea-Bissau's Navy Chief Arrested after an Attempted Coup- Monday Dec 26,2011
                                                          Rear Admiral Na Tchuto

Army chief of staff Gen Antonio Injai and Defence Minister Bacrio Dja said it was an attempt by a group of soldiers to overthrow the government.They said that 30 people had been arrested including Rear Adm Na Tchuto - who denies US accusations that he has played a key role in international drug trafficking.

Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior take refuge at the Angolan embassy in the city.

President Malam Bacai Sanha is in France, where he has been receiving medical treatment since early December 2011.
  
 Guinea-Bissau's President Malam Bacai Sanha died in hospital in Paris - Jan 09,2012

Guinea-Bissau's President Malam Bacai Sanha has died in hospital in Paris, according to a statement from his office read over National Radio.
The statement from President Malam Bacai Sanha's office announced "with pain and sadness" that he died at the Val-de-Grace military hospital in Paris where he had been receiving treatment

Guinea-Bissau Presidential Elections - Sunday March 18,2012

The election was the result of the death in January 09,2012of President Malam Bacai Sanha .

Guinea-Bissau has been plagued by Army Mutinies and Coups over the past 10 years.
No elected President has completed his mandate since multi-party politics was introduced in 1994.
 For the second time in two years, voters in Guinea-Bissau headed to the polls on Sunday to choose a president.
In 2009, Guinea-Bissau held an emergency election following the assassination of longtime President Joao Bernardo “Nino” Vieira. Newly elected leader Malam Bacai Sanha spent the better part of his term shuttling between hospitals to treat a mysterious illness. He died in January 2012, prompting the current election.

Elections were held on Sunday March 18,2012 amid fears that the army could be plotting a coup. There were alarming signs immediately after the vote with a former head of military intelligence, Colonel Samba Diallo, was killed at a bar near his residence in the capital Bissau.

Half a million voters in the tiny former Portuguese colony on Africa's west Atlantic coast, chose from nine candidates vying for the presidency in elections closely monitored by the international community.

None of the country's democratically elected leaders have ever finished a term in office. The last president, Malam Bacai Sanha, died in January from complications related to diabetes. All other previous presidents were toppled by military coups, including President João Bernardo Vieira who was killed by soldiers in March 2009.

The power of the army is seen as one of the biggest problems for the country, which has in recent years become a hub for cocaine trafficking from South America.

Reform of the military has been a key election pledge for some candidates.

Candidates in the election are -
Carols Gomes, 62, or CaDoGo as he is popularly known

former president Kumba Yala(59)who was overthrown in a coup in 2003and
 Henrique Rosa(66)who served as transitional president from 2004 to 2005
The successful candidate – expected to be announced on Wednesday – will face the challenge of extricating the government from a narcotics trade that experts say implicates military and political figures alike.

 Presidential Candidates
9 candidates are running for Presidential Office, but analysts say only 4 have a realistic chance. The front runner is Carlos Gomes Junior, 60, who has stepped down as prime minister to run as candidate for the governing African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).The three other candidates expected to do well are Kumba Yala, who was president from 2000 to 2003; MP Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo and former businessman Henrique Rosa.
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Guinea-Bissau Unrest
Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr. was unpopular with soldiers because of his efforts to reform the military by downsizing the bloated army, strengthening the police and fighting the cocaine-trafficking business in which some senior officers and politicians are believed embroiled.
The United Nations calls Guinea-Bissau a "narco-state" with uninhabited islands used as transit points by Latin American cartels that fly in drugs that are then transshipped to Europe.

Leaders Seized in Coup are Freed - Friday April 27,2012

Troops in the West African country of Guinea-Bissau have freed the interim president and ex-prime minister seized in a coup.

Former PM Carlos Gomes Junior and Interim President Raimundo Pereira have been flown to Ivory Coast's commercial capital of Abidjan, officials said.

 

The army seized power during a presidential election on April 12,2012.Former Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr. was the front-runner in a presidential runoff vote that had been scheduled this month. That election was derailed after armed forces attacked his home with grenades and took him into their custody.

 The coup leaders have also agreed to a 12-month transition to civilian rule, as demanded by regional bloc Ecowas.