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Guinea-Bissau: Vote counting begins after crucial elections
No elected president has completed a 5-year term in the Guinea-Bissau.
The final turnout at polling stations, which were set up in schools, on sidewalks, was likely to be between 70 and 80 percent, according to one source close to the organization of the election, who asked not to be named.
The frontrunner of 13 presidential candidates is Jose Mario Vaz, a former finance minister running for the dominant African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).
“We need to stabilize Guinea-Bissau. I cannot do this alone but with the help of everyone in Guinea-Bissau,” Vaz said.
The PAIGC party machinery makes it likely to secure a majority the 100-seat parliament but Vaz’s victory is far from certain because of public anger at traditional parties.
Many of the 800,000 registered voters are voting for the first time and are eager to usher in a new leadership.
Vaz’s candidacy is also tainted by accusations from Bissau’s attorney general of involvement in the embezzlement of a US$12.5 million grant from Angola, something Vaz denies. His main challenger is former World Bank executive Paulo Gomes.
Guinea-Bissau is home to 1.6 million people and covers about 28,000 sq km (10,800 square miles).
About 80 percent of the population depends on cashew farming, but post-election stability could help attract investors to untapped mineral resources including bauxite, phosphate and offshore oil.
Source: Reuters
