Guiné-Bissau : Reexaminar a Lei-quadro sobre os Partidos Politicos

The document analyzes the 1991 Framework Law on Political Parties in Guinea-Bissau, noting that while the law contains desirable democratic principles, it has been poorly applied, leading to the personalization of power and institutional weakness. It recommends establishing a Constitutional Court to oversee party registration and dissolution, implementing a 30% gender quota for candidate lists, and creating an independent National Commission for Political Financing to manage public subsidies and campaign spending limits to reduce corruption.

• The Framework Law on Political Parties (Law No. 2/91), adopted on May 9, 1991, has governed political activities for over two decades, requiring parties to have at least 2,000 members and a presence of at least 100 militants in each region.
• Despite the legal framework, political instability in Guinea-Bissau is not primarily due to legislative deficiencies but rather to the weakness of institutions and the failure to apply existing laws, which has facilitated the personalization of power.
• Between 1994 and 2014, the number of parties participating in legislative elections fluctuated from 8 in 1994 to a peak of 21 in 2008, and 15 in 2014; however, only four parties—PAIGC, PRS, PND, and UM—maintained a national presence across all electoral circles.
• Although laws from 1991 and 2013 provide for public financing of parties and campaign expenses based on state availability, in practice, parties and candidates have not received this public funding for a long time.
• The document proposes the creation of a Constitutional Court to handle the registration of political parties, verify the constitutionality of their statutes, and serve as the sole authority capable of suspending or dissolving a party for violations such as inciting hatred or long-term political inactivity.
• To promote gender equity, the brief suggests that the framework law should mandate a 30% quota for women on candidate lists for legislative and municipal elections.
• The author recommends establishing an independent National Commission for Political Financing to regulate campaign spending, validate accounts, and monitor contributions from foreign foundations to prevent the infiltration of organized crime money into politics.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2018). Guiné-Bissau : Reexaminar a Lei-quadro sobre os Partidos Politicos. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-3-por.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Guiné-Bissau : Reexaminar a Lei-quadro sobre os Partidos Politicos. 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-3-por.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Guiné-Bissau : Reexaminar a Lei-quadro sobre os Partidos Politicos |date=May 2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-3-por.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2018guinbissau, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Guiné-Bissau : Reexaminar a Lei-quadro sobre os Partidos Politicos}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-guineabissau-3-por.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }