One year after the dissolution of parliament by President Emballo, some 884,000 voters are being called to the polls in Guinea-Bissau to elect 102 deputies.
RFI reported that voting had begun and that electoral material and agents from the National Elections Commission (CNE) were on site. Voters marked their places with stones, beer bottles and masks.
One of the voters told RFI that this vote was very important “because we need to have stable institutions”, hoping like others that this vote would bring greater stability to the country.
Each political party is seeking an absolute majority to push through its reforms. For example, the Movement for Democratic Alternative (Madem), the party of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, is seeking to revise the Constitution to move from a parliamentary to a presidential system.
For its part, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) is aiming to regain ground and gain a majority so that it can propose projects in the agricultural, education and health sectors.
The electoral campaign ended the day before and the National Elections Commission claims that everything is ready for the vote, including the electoral material that has been delivered to the 3,000 or so polling stations across the country.
The CNE, the only body authorised to count and display the results, called on the political parties to respect the procedure and vote correctly in order to avoid a large number of blank or invalid votes.
At the same time, some 200 members of civil society are monitoring the entire electoral process.
The vice-president of civil society, Sidi Mohamed Jaquité, explained that the presence of these people aims to avoid incitement to violence and conflict and to make people aware of their right to vote for the party they want without turning enemies.