BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Election officials in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau say Jose Mario Vaz has won the presidential runoff vote.
Vaz supporters immediately took to the capital’s streets Tuesday to celebrate his victory.
Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commission announced that Vaz won 61.92 percent of Sunday’s vote, while Nuno Gomes Nabiam finished second with 38.08 percent.
The former Portuguese colony has been roiled by coups and power grabs since independence. No president has finished his term in office since 1974.
A similar runoff vote was derailed two years ago when the military arrested the prime minister who was then the leading presidential candidate.
The junta soon agreed to hand power to a caretaker president, who has been leading the country.
Guinea-Bissau has been named as transit point for cocaine being trafficked to Europe.
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