STORY: Voters in Guinea-Bissau lined up at polling stations on Sunday (November 23) as the coup-prone West African nation held presidential and legislative elections, with President Umaro Sissoco Embalo seeking to become the first leader in 30 years to secure a second consecutive term.

At a polling station in Gabu, voters queued patiently, clutching voting cards before collecting ballot papers and casting votes in boxes marked for both presidential and legislative races.

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 predict a close race between the two, with a run-off likely if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: GABU, GUINEA-BISSAU (NOVEMBER 23, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. DRONE SHOT OF PEOPLE WAITING TO VOTE

2. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING ON QUEUE WAITING TO VOTE

3. VARIOUS OF A WOMAN HOLDING THEIR VOTING CARDS

4. VARIOUS OF A MAN HOLDING THEIR VOTING CARDS

5. PEOPLE IN A QUEUE

6. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE COLLECTING BALLOT PAPERS AND BEING TOLD WHAT TO DO

7. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CASTING THEIR VOTE

8. BALLOT BOX ON DISPLAY WITH LABELS READING: (PORTUGUESE) ‘’PRESIDENCIAIS’’ (PRESIDENTIAL) AND ‘’LEGISLATIVAS’’ (LEGISLATIVE)

9. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE FILLING THEIR BALLOT PAPERS