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Guinea-Bissau: Postpones Update of Electoral Rolls.

The new director general of the Guinea-Bissau Electoral Process Support Office (GTAPE), Gabriel Gibril Baldé, announced today the postponement of the update of the electoral rolls, initially scheduled to begin on January 1st. The new date has not yet been defined.

The Postponement

Rui Miranda Lima, former general director of GTAPE, had announced on December 8th that the updating of electoral rolls would take place from January 1st to March 29th throughout the territory of Guinea-Bissau, extending until March 31st for those diaspora citizens residing in other countries in Africa and Europe.

Gabriel Gibril Baldé, who replaced Rui Miranda Lima last August, explained today, at a press conference, that the update of the electoral rolls was postponed due to “some operational technical aspects” related to the data collection system for voters in Guinea-Bissau. These aspects must allow synchronization between existing data and new data to be received.

“Unfortunately, we returned and did not find GTAPE as we had left it, including the report that lists all the activities carried out from the beginning to the end”, he said.

He stated that the outgoing management did nothing in terms of continuing the actions carried out by its management, which would culminate in the updating of electoral data.

The GTAPE director also highlighted that updates cannot occur without defining the date of Guinea-Bissau's legislative elections. As for the new date for updating the electoral rolls, the general director of GTAPE stated that he cannot specify it, but assured that it will take place throughout 2024.

The Contestation

The PAI Terra Ranka party won the last legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau, held in June 2023, but its government was dismissed on December 4th by the Guinean president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who cited a serious institutional crisis as the reason for doing so.

Because of this, the PAIGC accused the President of making an unconstitutional decision, given that the Constitution of Guinea-Bissau prevents the dissolution of parliament in the 12 months following the electoral act that dictated its formation.

According to several constitutionalists, the new date for the legislative elections should have been established in the act of dissolution of parliament, which could not have occurred before June 4, 2024.

Conclusion

The lack of democratic transparency in Guinea-Bissau, evidenced by the postponement of updating electoral rolls, challenges the integrity of the electoral process. The lack of clarity in past actions and the contestation surrounding the government's resignation generate uncertainty and highlight a deficiency in the transparency of the Guinean democratic system.

The failure to define dates for updating electoral rolls and the failure to call new legislative elections contribute to democratic opacity in the country, increasing concerns about political stability and the compromise of democratic principles in Guinea-Bissau.

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