Guinea-Bissau presidential election heads to run-off, incumbent eliminated

Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commision announced results of Sunday’s presidential election which show that the vote will go into a run-off.

The tiny West African country is also expecting to welcome a new president after incumbent President Jose Mario Vaz was eliminated from the next round after receiving only 12 percent of the vote.

Pereira received just over 40% while Embalo received just over 27%. President Jose Mario Vaz, who has been in power since 2014, came in fourth with just over 12% of the vote.

Two former Prime Ministers Domingos Simoes Pereira and Umaro Cissoko Embalo are through to the run-off after winning the most votes in the Nov. 24 first-round poll.

Mario Vaz’ loss according to analysts indicate public dissatisfaction with his tenure that was marred by political infighting, regular high-level sackings and corruption that came to a head in the run-up to the vote.

Vaz fired Simoes Pereira in 2015, leading to years of tension between the head of state and parliament. The commission says turnout was almost 75%.