Guinea Bissau president Embalo says he will not run for second term

Guinea Bissau’s President Umaro Cissoko Embalo said on Thursday he would not run for a second term in elections in November.

Embalo, 51, was elected in January 2020 to succeed outgoing president Jose Mario Vaz. He defeated runner-up Domingos Simoes Pereira with 54% of the vote and would have been eligible for another term in office.

The unexpected announcement could trigger a power vacuum and heighten political instability in the coup-prone country of around two million people.

At the end of a council of ministers on Thursday night, Embalo said…