Government & politics — Guinea-Bissau

The country is named after the Guinea region of West Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea and stretches north to the Sahel; "Bissau," the name of the capital city, distinguishes the country from neighboring Guinea

• History: Promulgated 16 May 1984; note - constitution suspended following military coup April 2012, restored 2014; note - in May 2020, President EMBALO establ
• ished a commission to draft a revised constitution Amendments: Proposed by the National People’s Assembly if supported by at least one-third of its members, by the Council of State (a presidential consultant body), or by the government; passage requires approval by at least a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; constitutional articles on the republican and secular form of government and national sovereignty cannot be amended; amended 1991, 1993, 1996

Mixed legal system of civil law, which incorporated Portuguese law at independence and influenced by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), African Francophone Public Law, and customary law

• chief of state: President Uma
• Prime Minister Braima CAMARA (since 7 August 2025) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the prime minister,
• appointed by the president election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for up to 2 consecutive 5-year terms; prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leader
• s in the National People's Assembly most recent election date: 24 November 2019,
• with a runoff on 29 December 2019 election results: 2019: Umaro Sissoco EMBALO elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Domingos Simoes PEREIRA (PAIGC) 40.1%, Umaro Sissoco EMBALO (Madem G15) 27.7%, Nuno Gomez NABIAM (APU-PDGB) 13.2%, Jose Mario VAZ (independent) 12.4%, other 6.6%; percent of vote in second round - Umaro Sissoco EMBALO 53.6%, Domingos Simoes PEREIRA 46.5% 2014: Jose Mario VAZ elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Jose Mario VAZ (PAIGC) 41%, Nuno Gomez NABIAM (independent) 25.1%, other 33.9%; percent of vote in second round - Jose Mario VAZ 61.9%, Nuno Gomez NABIAM 38.1% (2019)
• expected date of next election: 2025
• note: President EMBALO was declared winner of the 2019 runoff presidential election by the electoral commission; in 2020, EMBALO inaugurated himself with only military leadership present, even though the Supreme Court of Justice had yet to rule on an electoral litigation appeal

Description

Unicameral National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (102 seats; 100 members directly elected in 27 multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote and 2 elected in single-seat constituencies for citizens living abroad (Africa 1, Europe 1); all members serve 4-year terms)

Elections

Last election held 4 June 2023 (next election on 30 June 2027)

Note

on 4 December 2023 the president dissolved the parliament with new elections held at a future date

Election Results

• Percent of vote by party - PAIGC 39.4%, Madem G-15 21.1%, PRS 14.9%, other 12.5%
• seats by party - PAIGC 54, Madem G-15 29, PRS- 12, other 7;

Composition

men 92, women 10, percent of women 9.8%

• Highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (consists of 9 judges and organized into Civil, Criminal, and Social and Administrative Disputes Chambers); note - the Supreme Court has both appellate and c
• onstitutional jurisdiction Judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the Higher Council of the Magistrate, a major government organ responsible for judge appointments, dismissals, and judiciary discipline;
• judges appointed by the president for life Subordinate courts: Appeals Court; regional (first instance) courts; military court

• African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde or PAIGC [Domingos SIMOES PEREIRA]
• Democratic Convergence Party or PCD [Vicente FERNANDES]
• Movement for Democratic Alternation Group of 15 or MADEM-G15 [Braima CAMARA]
• National People’s Assembly – Democratic Party of Guinea Bissau or APU-PDGB [Nuno Gomes NABIAM]
• New Democracy Party or PND [Mamadu Iaia DJALO]
• Party for Social Renewal or PRS [Alberto NAMBEIA]
• Republican Party for Independence and Development or PRID [Aristides GOMES]
• Union for Change or UM [Agnelo REGALA]

• No Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

ACP, AfDB, AOSIS, AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Chief of Mission

Ambassador Michael RAYNOR (since 20 April 2022) Mailing address: 2080 Bissau Place, Washington DC 20521-2080

Email address and website

• dakarACS@state.gov
• https://gw.usmission.gov/

Chief of Mission

none; note - Guinea-Bissau does not have official representation in Washington, DC