The losing candidate in Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election filed a Supreme Court challenge on Friday to former prime minister and ex-army general Umaro Cissoko Embalo’s victory in a run-off, a court spokesman said.
The electoral commission said on Wednesday that Embalo won the December 29 vote with 54%. But Domingos Simoes Pereira, the ruling party’s candidate, complained of fraud, saying that votes surpassed the number of enrolled voters at some polling places.
After a turbulent lead-up, which included protests and political infighting, the two rounds of voting in November and December went smoothly, African observers said, with incumbent President Jose Mario Vaz eliminated in the first round.
Vaz, who is the first Guinea-Bissau president to have completed a full term but whose tenure was marred by political dysfunction and corruption allegations, conceded defeat and threw his support behind Embalo.
The Supreme Court will hear the petition by Pereira’s PAIGC party to annul the election results beginning on Monday, court spokesman Salimo Vieira told reporters. It was not clear how long the court could take to decide the case.
Pereira’s camp had no immediate comment about the complaint. Embalo says he is the rightful winner of the election.
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