Guinea-Bissau's former ruling PAIGC party won a clear parliamentary majority in last weekend's poll, seeing off a new formation allied to President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira and boosting hopes for stability. The African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) won 67 of the National Assembly's 100 seats, provisional results showed, National Electoral Commission chief Aladji Malam Mane said on Friday.
The former independence movement, whose members quit a national unity government in July after senior representatives were sacked from top financial posts, had asked voters for a clear mandate to rule. Foreign aid donors hope the November 16 election will help counter unrest in the impoverished and volatile West African country, which crime-fighters fear is becoming a "narco-state" under the influence of Latin American cocaine-smuggling gangs.
International election monitors have said the elections were calm and well organised. Previous elections have sparked violence in the tiny, former Portuguese colony. "The elections were free, fair and transparent. So far there have been no appeals from any of the parties," said Mane as he announced provisional results in the capital Bissau on Friday. Turnout was 82 percent, he said.
The influential Social Renewal Party (PRS), which draws its strength from the Balante ethnic group and is backed by military chiefs, was the only other party to secure significant parliamentary representation with 28 seats. On the streets of Bissau, Guineans said they hoped the new administration would help alleviate poverty.
"The elections went well, we are happy," said petrol station attendant Sherif Seidi. "I hope (PAIGC leader) Carlos Gomes Junior will help the country. We are asking him to relieve the suffering of the people." Guinea-Bissau is one of world's poorest countries, and most people work as subsistence farmers.
"This is the result we have waiting been for," said Bissau resident Alex Yala. "This country wants peace and stability, so poverty can be relieved." The upstart Republican Party for Independence and Development (PRID), led by Vieira's ally and former Prime Minister Aristides Gomes, won just three seats. Two minor parties won one seat each.