Domingos Simoes Pereira, an ex-prime minister and leader of the PAIGC party that led the former Portuguese colony to independence, returned to Guinea-Bissau last Friday after spending nine months abroad because of a perceived threat to his life as well as legal issues.
Pereira, who heads the main opposition coalition Pai Terra Ranka comprised of around 10 political parties, is the second candidate to officially declare his intention to run. President Umaro Sissoco Embalo filed his application on Monday.
The two politicians went head-to-head as chief opponents in the country’s last presidential election in 2019, with Pereira bitterly contesting his defeat. An AFP reporter was present for Pai Terra Ranka’s submission of Pereira’s application to the head of the Supreme Court.
“The Pai-Terra Ranka coalition has just submitted its presidential candidacy and the list of candidates for the legislative elections”, one of Pereira’s representatives, Agnelo Regala, told AFP. “It’s a carefully crafted effort. We hope that all the conditions are met to compete on November 23rd”, Regala said.
Before returning to Guinea-Bissau, Pereira had told supporters in Portugal that he was coming home to lead a “democratic fight”. He had announced on social media that he intended to run for the presidency and wanted to meet the September 26 deadline to submit his application.
Embalo was sworn in for a five-year term in February 2020 as the head of the small country plagued with instability. Embalo, however, pushed elections back to November 2025, citing logistical and financial difficulties. Pereira and his opposition colleagues consider that the president’s mandate for a five-year term has therefore expired.
“Despite the ongoing maneuvering, we remain confident that we will win. If we win, let us govern in peace”, Regala said. Guinea-Bissau has seen four coups since its independence from Portugal in 1974, the last of which was in 2012. There have been 17 attempted coups.
Platform with AFP
