WElections in Guinea-Bissau take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a semi-presidential system. Both the President and the National People's Assembly are directly elected by voters.
WIndirect elections to a National Assembly were held in the parts of Portuguese Guinea held by the rebel African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) between August and October 1972, but not in the Portuguese-controlled areas of Bissau, Bolama, the Bissagos Islands and Bafatá.
WElections to the Legislative Assembly were held for the first and only time in Portuguese Guinea in March 1973.
WIndirect parliamentary elections were held in Guinea-Bissau between 19 December 1976 and mid-January 1977, the first since independence from Portugal. At the time, the country was a one-party state with the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) as the sole legal party. A single, official list of PAIGC candidates was presented to voters, although in some areas people voted for unofficial candidates, who achieved almost 20% of the national vote. The Assembly elected Luís Cabral to the post of President on 13 March 1977.
WIndirect parliamentary elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 31 March 1984. At the time, the country was a one-party state with the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde as the sole legal party. The Assembly elected João Bernardo Vieira to the post of President on 16 May 1984.
WIndirect parliamentary elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 15 June 1989. At the time, the country was a one-party state with the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde as the sole legal party. Voter turnout was 53.2%, and around 60% of the Assembly members were elected for the first time. The Assembly re-elected João Bernardo Vieira to the post of President on 19 June.
WGeneral elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 3 July 1994, with a second round for the presidential election on 7 August. They were the first multi-party elections since independence, and also the first time the president had been directly elected, as previously the post had been elected by the National People's Assembly. In the presidential election, the result was a victory for incumbent João Bernardo Vieira of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), who defeated Kumba Ialá of Social Renewal Party in the second round. In the Assembly election, 1,136 candidates ran for the 100 seats, of which the PAIGC won 62.
WGeneral elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 28 November 1999, with a second round for the presidential election on 16 January 2000. The presidential election resulted in a victory for opposition leader Kumba Ialá of the Party for Social Renewal (PRS), who defeated Malam Bacai Sanhá of the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde. The PRS were also victorious in the National People's Assembly election, winning 38 of the 102 seats. This was the first time an opposition party won an election since the country's independence in the 1970s.
WParliamentary elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 28 March 2004 after repeated postponements caused by political and financial chaos in the country, including a coup d'état that overthrew President Kumba Ialá in September 2003. The former ruling party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), won the largest number of seats, but did not obtain a majority. Former President Yala's party, the Party for Social Renewal (PRS), came second with 35 seats.
WParliamentary elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 16 November 2008. The result was a victory for the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which won 67 out of the 100 seats in the National People's Assembly, while the Party for Social Renewal (PRS) won 28 seats.
WGeneral elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 13 April 2014, with a second round for the presidential elections held on 18 May since no candidate received a majority in the first round. Several logistic problems and delays caused the elections to be repeatedly postponed, having initially been scheduled for 24 November 2013 and then 16 March 2014. In the second round, José Mário Vaz of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde was declared the president-elect with 62% of the vote.
WLegislative elections were held in Guinea-Bissau on 10 March 2019. They were originally scheduled for 18 November 2018 following an ECOWAS brokered agreement between President José Mário Vaz and the opposition in April 2018, but the electoral census was not completed until 20 November, and Prime Minister Aristides Gomes subsequently proposed 16 December, 30 December, or 27 January 2019 as possible alternative dates. The election date was settled following a presidential decree issued in December 2018.