By Alaattin Dogru
DAKAR (AA) – The West African nation of Guinea-Bissau elected Umaro Sissoco Embalo the new president, according to local media on Wednesday.
Embalo won 53.55% of the votes in a runoff vote election on Dec. 30.
On Sunday's election, voters chose between Domingos Simoes Pereira from the traditional ruling party and opposition figure Embalo, the two finalists from the first-round of election held in November.
Pereira, 56, won 40% of the vote in the first-round vote on Nov. 25.
He belongs to the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), with roots in a movement that fought to end Portuguese rule in the country.
Several opposition figures rallied behind Embalo, 47, who emerged from the first round with 27.65% of the vote.
Embalo also got the backing of outgoing President Jose Mario Vaz, who won 12.41% of votes in the first round.
He also counted on support from Nuno Gomes Nabiam, an opposition figure, who scored 13.16% in the first-round vote, and Carlos Domingos Gomes, a former prime minister who garnered about 2%.
Embalo belongs to Madem, an opposition party formed by PAIGC rebels.
Vaz is the first Guinea-Bissau president in 25 years to have finished his term without being ousted in a military coup.
Both Pereira and Embalo are former prime ministers. Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1973, Guinea-Bissau has witnessed multiple coup attempts, four of them successful.
* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur
