Guinea-Bissau President declares he won’t seek a second term.

Guinea-Bissau’s President, Umaro Cissoko Embalo, has indicated his desire to stand aside at the end of his current mandate.

The 51-year-old announced the decision at the end of a Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday night, stating that his wife had convinced him not to run again.

President Emballo was elected in January 2020 to succeed the incumbent president, Jose Mario Vaz.

According to Reuters, the sudden declaration might cause a power vacuum and heighten political instability in the coup-prone country of over two million people.

Embalo, an ex-army officer who served as Prime Minister under Vaz, inherited a long-running political impasse in a country plagued by coups and turmoil since independence from Portugal in 1974.

During his administration, he was the target of two coup attempts, the most recent of which occurred in December 2023.

His attempt to pass a constitutional amendment giving the president extra powers was rejected by Parliament.

The country will conduct its next presidential election in November 2024.