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Kumba Ialá was President of Guinea-Bissau from 2000 to 2003.Kumba Ialá (also spelled Yala) (born 15 March 1953) is a Guinea-Bissau politician and former President. He held that post from 17 February 2000 until he was deposed in a military coup on 14 September 2003. He is a Catholic and belongs to the Balanta ethnic group.
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Early life
Born to a farming family in Bula, Cacheu Region on 15 March 1953, Ialá became a militant member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) during his teenage years. The PAIGC sought independence from Portuguese colonial rule.
He studied theology at the Catholic University in Lisbon, Portugal and later studied philosophy. In Bissau, Ialá studied law. He speaks Portuguese, Crioulo, Spanish, French and English and can read Latin, Greek and Hebrew. After completing his education, he worked as a philosophy teacher.
Political career
The head of a PAIGC delegation to Moscow in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, he was expelled from the party in 1989 for demanding greater democratic reform, at a time when Africa was ringing to the sound of calls for pluralist politics.
In March 1991, alongside Rafael Barbosa, Ialá helped found the Democratic Social Front (FDS). On 14 January 1992, Ialá left the FDS and formed the Social Renewal Party (PRS).
The first multiparty presidential election, took place on 3 July 1994. Incumbent president and PAIGC candidate João Bernardo “Nino” Vieira won 46.20% of the vote. Ialá finished second, capturing 21.88% of the vote. Since no candidate won the required 50% of the vote for an outright victory, a run-off was conducted on 7 August. Vieira defeated Ialá by a four-percent margin (52.02% to 47.98%). Although the election was declared generally free and fair by election observers, Ialá contested the results, claiming intimidation of his supporters. The Supreme Court rejected his claims and the results were validated. On 20 August, he accepted the results, but announced that the PRS would not participate in the new government.
On 28 November 1999, after a devastating Civil War and the ouster of João Vieira, new presidential elections were held. Kumba Ialá placed first with 38.81% of the vote followed by interim president and PAIGC candidate, Malam Bacai Sanhá, who won 23.37%. The run-off held on 16 January 2000 was easily won by Ialá who won 72% of the vote. He was sworn-in as President of Guinea-Bissau on 17 February.
The Ialá Presidency
Kumba Ialá's tenure as the country's head of state was characterized by sackings of ministers and other high officials, and poor financial management that led the World Bank/IMF to suspend aid. His government survived numerous coup attempts, the most significant of which came from Ansumane Mané in November 2000. Mané, who toppled Vieira's regime a year earlier, was shot dead in the rebellion.
Ialá refused to veto or promulgate the new constitution, which was approved by the National Assembly in 2001. In June 2002, he accused The Gambia of fomenting rebellion in Guinea-Bissau, a charge which the foreign minister of The Gambia denied. He also began imprisoning domestic opposition activists that he accused of plotting against his government. Legislative elections, due to be held in early 2003 were repeatedly postponed, raising suspicions that he intended to manipulate the law to guarantee that he would remain in power.
2003 Coup
By September 2003, a stagnant economy, political instability, and military discontent over unpaid salaries triggered a bloodless coup on 14 September. He was detained and later placed under house arrest. General Veríssimo Correia Seabra, leader of the coup, cited the incapacity of the organs of sovereignty then in office as justification for the takeover. Ialá signed a document that renounced his claim to the presidency and prohibited him from participating in politics for five years. A civilian-led transitional government led by businessman Henrique Rosa was set up at the end of September.
In early March 2004, ahead of legislative elections, he was released from house arrest. His Social Renewal Party (PRS) won 35 seats in the election, making it the largest opposition party in the National People's Assembly.
2005 Presidential Election
In March 2005, he was chosen as the Social Renewal Party's (PRS) candidate for the June 19 presidential election, despite being officially banned from politics for five years. 1 The Supreme Court cleared him to stand in the election in May 2005, and soon afterwards, in mid-May, Ialá said that he was withdrawing his resignation as president and would resume his office to serve out the remainder of his term. 2 Although this increased the country's political tension, the declaration did not appear to lead to much immediate consequence; a rally of some of Ialá's supporters was held a few days later and was dispersed by police with tear gas. 3
In late May, he occupied the presidential palace with a group of armed men for about four hours before leaving, according to an announcement by the army. 4 According to official results he came in third in the June 19 election with 25% of the vote, behind Sanhá and Vieira, and thus did not participate in the second round run-off. Ialá said that he actually won, with 38.87%, and that the result was a fraud; 5 however, he later said that he accepted the result in the interest of peace and democracy, while still claiming to have actually won. At least four people was reported killed by police in protests by Ialá's supporters after the results were announced. 6
In early July, Ialá announced his support for Nino Vieira's candidacy in the run-off 7, which took place on July 24 and resulted in Vieira's victory.