Why did Guinea-Bissau face a political crisis after the 2019 presidential election?

Following the 2019 presidential election, Guinea-Bissau experienced a severe political crisis primarily due to a dispute over the election results and the legitimacy of the inauguration process.

After Umaro Sissoco Embaló was declared the winner of the December 2019 runoff, his opponent, Domingos Simões Pereira, and the PAIGC party alleged fraud and filed a petition with the Supreme Court. Despite this case being pending, Embaló held an inauguration ceremony on February 27, 2020, and subsequently dismissed Prime Minister Aristides Gomes.

The PAIGC-dominated National People’s Assembly rejected the legality of Embaló’s inauguration and the dismissal of the prime minister, swearing in the speaker of parliament, Cipriano Cassamá, as interim president. This resulted in the country having two rival administrations. Although Cassamá resigned shortly thereafter due to threats, and the Supreme Court eventually upheld the election results in September 2020, the standoff highlighted deep-seated instability and tensions between the executive and legislative branches of the country.12