Political Chaos in Guinea-Bissau

It began Sunday night, when Army chief and critic of the administration General Batista Tagme Na Wai was killed by a bomb planted at his office. The following morning, President Joao Bernardo Vieira was shot to death in his home. While President Vieira's death was likely retaliatory, the motive behind the General's death remains unclear. But what initially looked to many like a coup attempt, and could have denigrated into ethnic violence, was dealt with calmly and smoothly by the remaining leadership. Raimundo Pereira, the President of the National People's Assembly (Guinea-Bissau's parliament), was sworn in as President of the country on Tuesday; and according to a Voice of America editorial, Navy Commander Jose Zamura Induta assured that "the attack on the president was an isolated incident, it did not represent a coup d'etat, and the armed forces will respect democratic principles as the nation's leaders work through the crisis."

A few need-to-know details about Guinea-Bissau's recent political history:

• President Vieira and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) dominated Guinea-Bissauan politics from 1980 to 1999.
• 1994 marked the first multi-party elections in the nation's history, with Vieira elected to the Presidency in a contest widely considered free and fair.
• Civil war broke out in 1998 between the military establishment and forces loyal to the President, leading to a successful coup in May 1999 that ousted Vieira. Kumba Iala of the PAIGC-rival Social Renewal Party (PRS) won elections later that year.
• President Iala was ousted in a bloodless coup by the military establishment in 2003, paving the way for Vieira's return to power as an independent candidate in the elections of 2005.