Incumbent president eliminated from Dec. 29 run-off vote with 12%, coming in 3rd behind 2 former prime ministers
Guinea-Bissau's incumbent president lost last month’s presidential vote, with the West African country headed for a runoff, according to preliminary results announced by election officials on Wednesday.
Domingos Simoes Pereira, the candidate of the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde -- who was fired by President Jose Mario Vaz as prime minister in 2015 -- garnered the most votes with 40%, Electoral Commission head Jose Pedro Sambu told reporters.
Former Prime Minister Umaro Sissoco Embalo got 28% of the vote while Vaz, who contested on an independent ticket, took only 12%.
The results of the Nov. 22 poll mean Vaz is now eliminated from taking part in a run-off vote slated for Dec. 29.
Guinea-Bissau has seen nine coups and coup attempts over the past three years.
For two decades, no elected head of state had finished his five-year mandate.
In 2009, then-President Joao Bernardo Vieira was assassinated.
Vaz took office in 2014 -- a tenure marred by power struggle with his own prime ministers as well as with opposition parties.
The National Election Commission data shows that of 761,676 registered voters, some 566,500 participated, a turnout of 74%.
Vaz’s campaign team alleged the election was rigged by his rivals.
However, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rejected the claims.
ECOWAS on Monday warned it had a standby military force poised to "re-establish order" in the event of a coup.
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