Key facts
- Guinea-Bissau's presidential and legislative elections scheduled for December 6 will be delayed.
- Prime Minister Ilídio Vieira Té announced the delay on Thursday.
- No new date for the vote has been set.
- Political parties had not held congresses to choose leaders, and candidates missed the October 6 deadline for submitting bids.
- The government blocked former president Umaro Sissoco Embalo from returning, citing national security concerns.
- Civil society activists allege the interim government has used fear to crush dissent, citing the unsolved murder of rapper Vigario Luis Balanta.
Guinea-Bissau's presidential and legislative elections, originally scheduled for December 6, will be delayed, Prime Minister Ilídio Vieira Té announced on Thursday. No new date for the vote has been set.
Té cited the lack of conditions for holding the elections, including political parties not having held their congresses to choose leaders and potential candidates missing the October 6 deadline to submit their bids to the nation's Supreme Court. Last week, the government blocked former president Umaro Sissoco Embalo from returning to the country, citing national security concerns. Embalo had planned to return on Sunday and contest the presidential election.