By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Deposed Guinea-Bissau President, Umaro Sissoco Embalo is considering a return to the country on October 4 to stand for the presidential election scheduled for December, Reuters quoted a source familiar with the matter as saying.
Embalo was forcefully removed from office in a military coup last November, shortly before results from presidential and legislative elections were due for announcement.
Senior army officers had suspended the electoral process and installed Major-General Horta Inta-a as transitional president.
The military authorities later scheduled new presidential and legislative elections for December 6 this year.
Embalo’s campaign organisation has not yet been finalised, one source close to Embalo said, adding that the military-led government had assured the former president that he is “welcome” to return.
Embalo has been outside the country since the coup last year, fleeing to Senegal and then the Republic of Congo. His current location could not be independently verified.
Guinea-Bissau approved a new constitution in a referendum in August that expanded presidential powers and changed electoral rules.
Among other provisions, it requires presidential candidates to have lived continuously in the country for the preceding five years. It was unclear how that provision might affect Embalo’s candidacy.
Guinea-Bissau, a small Portuguese-speaking West African country, has a long history of military coups and is largely viewed as a transit hub for cocaine bound for Europe.
