Guinea-Bissau holds close vote, Embalo seeks rare second term

Coup-prone Guinea-Bissau holds elections on Sunday, with President Umaro Sissoco Embalo trying to become the first leader in three decades to make it through to a second consecutive term in the West African nation.



He is facing off against 11 other candidates, the strongest of them relative political newcomer Fernando Dias who has the backing of the leader of the revolutionary party that led the fight for independence from Portugal in the 1960s and 1970s.



That party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), was barred from fielding its own candidates in the presidential and legislative elections, for the first time, after authorities said it filed papers late.



Analysts are predicting a close race between Embalo and Dias, and a runoff will be held if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.



The small coastal nation between Senegal and Guinea saw at least nine coups or attempted coups before Embalo took office.



He says he has survived another three since then - though his opponents have accused him of manufacturing crises as an excuse for crackdowns, charges he dismisses.