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Guinea-Bissau

Monthly Event Reports

December 2023 | President dissolves legislature following alleged coup attempt

Guinea-Bissau is again without a functioning legislature, only six months after the most recent elections. President Umaro Sissoco Embalo issued a decree on 4 December ordering the National Assembly (Assembleia Nacional Popular) dissolved, following a violent confrontation between the elements of the presidential guard and the National Guard that the President described as an attempted coup d’état. The June election was won by the opposition coalition PAI-Terra Ranka, led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, PAIGC), resulting in a partisan division between the President and the cabinet. The incident that triggered this decree involved the arrest of two members of the cabinet on charges of corruption, and an attempt on the part of members of the National Guard to free them. President Embalo had also dissolved the previous legislature in February 2022 following an attempted coup.

June 2023 | Legislative elections give majority to opposition coalition

Guinea-Bissau held legislative elections in June, more than a year after President Umaro Sissoco Embaló ordered the legislature to be dissolved following an investigation into an attempted coup d’état. The election gave the opposition coalition of PAI-Terra Ranka, led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, PAIGC), a majority in the legislature as it took 54 of the 102 seats. President Embaló’s Madem-G15 party won 29 seats. The opposition victory likely means that President Embaló’s initiative to amend the constitution to move toward a presidential system will not move forward. Election observers from the African Union and Economic Community of West African States expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election. The election was a step back for gender equality in Guinea-Bissau, as only 11 women were elected (down from 13 in the last election) despite a gender quota that requires that at least 36 per cent of the members of the legislature are women.

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
2 015 490
System of government
Semi-Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Geraldo Martins (since 2023)
Head of government party
PAI – Terra Ranka
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
10.8 %
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2023
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
2.64
Head of state
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
24/01/2020
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
97.97%
Population Tooltip
2 015 490
System of government
Semi-Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Geraldo Martins (since 2023)
Head of government party
PAI – Terra Ranka
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
10.8 %
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2023
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
2.64
Head of state
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
24/01/2020
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
97.97%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
Signatory
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
No Action
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
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Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

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Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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