West African nations\non Thursday recognized Umaro Sissoco Embalo as president of Guinea-Bissau,\nafter four months of dispute over whether his election was fraudulent.
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\nEmbalo won a run-off presidential vote in the chronically unstable country in\nDecember, according to the country’s electoral authority.
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\nBut losing candidate Domingos Simoes Pereira, from the long-ruling PAIGC party,\ncalled the election fraudulent and took the case to the Supreme Court, which\nhas not yet ruled.
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\nEmbalo, a former prime minister, declared himself president in February without\nwaiting for the court, creating a political impasse.
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\nThe heads of state of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said\nin a statement that they recognized Embalo as president but also called for\nconstitutional reform to be put to a referendum within six months.
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\nExperts have argued that the country’s semi-presidential system contributes to\nits instability, with frequent clashes between the president and the prime\nminister.
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\nGuinea-Bissau has known little but coups and instability since its independence\nfrom Portugal in 1974.
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\nThe country has also long struggled with poverty and corruption and it has also\nbecome a transit route for South American cocaine heading to Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: Voice of America<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"