Under the previous electoral order, the President of Guinea-Bissau was elected directly for five years by absolute majority. If no candidate received more than half of the valid votes, a second round followed within 21 days. The same person could serve a maximum of two consecutive terms and then faced a five-year exclusion period before standing again. The national legislature had 102 deputies elected for four years in 29 constituencies, including 27 in the country and two for the diaspora. Voters cast one vote for a multi-member list, and seats were allocated using a modified D'Hondt method. The CNE supervises and organizes elections, provides voter information, promotes equal treatment and announces the official result. Gabinete Técnico de Apoio ao Processo Eleitoral (GTAPE) maintains the technical side of the electoral register and voter cards. Comissões Regionais de Eleições (CRE) operate at regional level. Courts handle electoral disputes, while the previous system assigned candidate review to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (STJ). Candidates and lists may appoint delegates and substitutes to each polling table, which supports observation of voting and counting. A Guinean citizen must be at least 18 years old and registered to vote. Voting takes place in person, directly and secretly at the assigned location. A voter card is required; a duplicate can be requested through sectoral registration commissions. Foreign nationals without Guinean electoral registration do not vote. Inland register updates typically take place from January to February, while diaspora registration has typically run from January to March. Authorized service missions may use a documented advance-voting procedure 72 hours before the election. The campaign period is approximately 12 days. Parties and candidates receive access to broadcasting time, and additional poster space and public locations may be made available under equal-treatment rules. The media should treat competing candidates without discrimination. Publishing opinion polls is prohibited from the day before voting through the close of polling. Campaign accounts and financial transparency also form part of the electoral framework, and the CNE provides objective voter information. The register data delivered to the CNE on 18 August 2026 listed 966,152 registered voters. More than 25,000 replacement cards were issued between 13 July and 11 August 2026. These figures describe the administrative register but do not by themselves establish its independent quality. Counting starts at the polling station, continues through regional aggregation and ends with the CNE's official announcement. Parties' delegates and observers can follow the process, and courts can review electoral disputes. The transition authorities set the next presidential and legislative election for 6 December 2026. The new Constitution was approved in the 30 August 2026 referendum according to the CNE result announced on 1 September, with 70 percent voting yes and 30 percent voting no. Public reports disagree about the future number of deputies and constituencies, and the final seat-allocation method and candidate rules should therefore be taken from the verified promulgated Constitution and applicable electoral law rather than from provisional reports. Operational election-calendar dates and candidate deadlines for 2026 were not yet established in the available evidence. The 23 November 2025 presidential and legislative election had 966,152 registered voters, 12 presidential candidates and 29 constituencies, but the military takeover on 26 November occurred before official results were announced. On 2 December, the CNE lacked enough regional protocols to complete and publish a confirmed final result. That episode makes the chain of polling-station records, regional protocols, observation and formal CNE proclamation central to assessing the credibility of an election. The 2023 legislative election provides a prior benchmark: 711,058 of 893,618 registered voters participated, and the PAI-Terra Ranka coalition won 54 of 102 seats with 39.38 percent of the vote.
Elections in Guinea-Bissau
Elections in Guinea-Bissau allow eligible citizens to choose the President and members of the national legislature. Guinean citizens aged 18 or older need electoral-register entry and a voter card, and they vote personally, directly and secretly at an assigned polling place. The Comissão Nacional de Eleições (CNE) organizes the process and announces official results, while the electoral register and voter cards are handled technically by the Gabinete Técnico de Apoio ao Processo Eleitoral (GTAPE). The 2026 transition has introduced a new constitutional framework, but its final electoral rules and constituency structure remain partly unsettled.
Tip
Treat Guinea-Bissau's 2026 election as a changing legal and operational process. If you plan to vote, first confirm your electoral-register entry and voter card through current CNE or GTAPE information; if you plan to stand, campaign or observe, wait for verified rules and the official calendar before committing resources. Assess results through the CNE's final proclamation and the complete polling-station and regional record chain, not through preliminary claims or the unresolved 2025 result.