In spite of ongoing legal and political battles over the official presidential poll results, a candidate in the election, Mr Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has administered oath of office on himself as the “new president” of Guinea-Bissau.
The event took place on Thursday at an upscale hotel in the West African state’s capital, Bissau, in defiance to the bitter ongoing row about the outcome of the December 29 elections.
“I swear on my honour to defend the constitution, to respect it and have it respected,” Embalo told a crowd.
There was no authorization from the Supreme Court of Justice, and National People’s Assembly President Guinea-Bissau Cipriano Cassama was absent.
However, many opposition leaders who had supported Embalo in the second round of presidential elections, as well as outgoing President Jose Mario Vaz, assisted in the ceremony.According to the results published by the country’s National Election Commission, Embalo as candidate of the Movement for Democratic Alternation obtained 53.55 percent of the votes during the presidential election runoff held on Dec. 29, 2019.
The Supreme Court of Justice issued rulings requiring a check of the vote tally sheets after the party of defeated candidate Domingos Simoes Pereira filed a lawsuit, but the dispute has not been resolved yet.
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