Guinea-Bissau

BISSAU, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Heads of state and government of West African countries have elected President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu as the new chairman of the regional bloc, replacing President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo.

Tinubu said he would promote democracy so that elections are the only possible route to power in the region, and fight terrorism that threatens peace and security.

He made the remarks at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that ended Sunday.

BISSAU, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo said on Thursday that three people previously arrested by U.S. authorities for drug trafficking were behind an attempted coup last week.

Former navy admiral Bubo Na Tchuto and his aides Tchamy Yala and Papis Djeme were arrested in 2013 in a high-profile U.S. drug sting on a luxury yacht for conspiring to facilitate the shipment of cocaine to the United States.

BISSAU, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The minister of tourism and spokesman for the government of Guinea-Bissau, Fernando Vaz, confirmed on Wednesday 11 people died during the failed coup attempt that took place in the country on Tuesday.

During a press conference, he specified that the dead included civilians, security guards and soldiers, calling the act "violent and barbaric".

BISSAU, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — One of the two men who had been declared president of Guinea Bissau has resigned – after just one full day in office.

Despite not being in the December ballot Cipriano Cassamá was appointed by parliament, the majority of whose deputies have refused to acknowledge the election victory of the former opposition leader, Umaro Sissoco Embalol.

Embalol was sworn in as head of state at a luxury hotel on Thursday after the electoral commission had declared him the winner of December’s presidential vote.

BISSAU, Jan 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Former Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister Umaro Cissoko Embalo has been elected president after winning a run-off vote against another ex-prime minister.

The 47-year-old beat rival Domingos Simoes Pereira by about 54% to 46%, the electoral commission announced.

Pereira vowed to contest the result, alleging “electoral fraud”.

Embalo has said he wants to resolve political tensions in the West African country, which has seen nine coups or attempted coups since 1974.

BISSAU (Reuters) - Former Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister and ex-army general Umaro Cissoko Embalo won Sunday’s presidential election with 54% of the vote, the electoral commission said on Wednesday.

Embalo, 47, who beat another former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira in a run-off vote, will succeed incumbent President Jose Mario Vaz, whose tenure was marred by political infighting, an ill-functioning parliament and corruption.

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Two former prime ministers of Guinea-Bissau are vying for the presidency in a runoff election Sunday after the incumbent failed to reach the second round in the tumultuous West African country once described by the United Nations as a narco-state.

President Jose Mario Vaz, in power since 2014, has vowed to respect the results in a rare gesture of political stability. Vaz is the first democratically elected president to complete a full term without being deposed or assassinated since the country’s independence from Portugal in 1974.