| Guinea-Bissau |
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A legislative election was held in Guinea-Bissau on March 28, 2004. The election had been repeatedly postponed due to political and financial chaos in the country, and due to the coup d'état which overthrew President Kumba Ialá in September 2003.
The former ruling party, the African Party of Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), won the largest number of seats (45) but did not win a majority. Former President Yala's party, the Party for Social Renovation (PRS), came second with 35 seats. The PAIGC reached an agreement with the PRS for its legislative support (a previous attempt at reaching a deal with the United Social Democratic Party, which won 17 seats, failed), and in May the new parliament was sworn in, with PAIGC leader Carlos Gomes Júnior becoming prime minister.[1][2]
Although voting reportedly took place on time in the interior of Guinea-Bissau, it was delayed in much of Bissau, the capital, as electoral materials were delivered late to many polling stations. The National Electoral Commission ordered the polling stations that opened late to remain open past the scheduled end of voting to ensure that everyone would have a chance to vote. About a third of polling stations in Bissau reportedly never opened on the day of the election, and these stations were ordered to open on the following day, March 29.[3]
Over 100 international observers were present for the election. The United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, and La Francophonie sent observers, as did Portugal, Russia and the United States.[3]
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| African Independence Party of Guinea and Cape Verde (Partido Africano da Independência de Guiné e Cabo Verde) | 145,316 | 33.88 | 45 |
| Party for Social Renewal (Partido para a Renovaçao Social) | 113,656 | 26.50 | 35 |
| United Social Democratic Party (Partido Unido Social Democrático) | 75,485 | 17.60 | 17 |
| United Platform (Plataforma Unida) | 20,700 | 4.83 | - |
| Electoral Union (União Eleitoral) | 18,354 | 4.28 | 2 |
| Democratic Socialist Party (Partido Democrático Socialista) | 8,789 | 2.05 | - |
| Union for Change (União para a Mudança) | 8,621 | 2.01 | - |
| Resistance of Guinea-Bissau-Bafatá Movement (Resistência da Guiné-Bissau-Movimento Bafatá) | 7,918 | 1.85 | - |
| National Unity Party (Partido da Unidade Nacional) | 6,260 | 1.46 | - |
| United People's Alliance (Aliança Popular Unida) | 5,817 | 1.36 | 1 |
| National Union for Democracy and Progress (União Nacional para a Democracia e o Progresso) | 5,042 | 1.18 | - |
| Guinean Civic Forum-Social Democracy (Fórum Cívico Guineense-Social Democracia) | 4,209 | 0.98 | - |
| Guinean Democratic Movement (Movimento Democrático Guineense) | 4,202 | 0.98 | - |
| Manifest Party of the People (Partido do Manifesto do Povo) | 3,402 | 0.79 | - |
| Socialist Party of Guinea-Bissau (Partido Socialista da Guiné-Bissau) | 1,167 | 0.27 | - |
| Total (turnout 76.2%) | 428,937 | 100.00 | 100 |
| Registered voters | 603,639 | ||
| Total votes cast | 460,254 | ||
| Invalid votes | 31,317 | ||
| Source: African Elections Database | |||
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