Nino Vieira: Difference between revisions

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|origin = Bisau, Portuguese Guinea

|fullname = João Bernardo Vieira

After President Kumba Yalá was overthrown in a military coup in September 2003 by General Veríssimo Correia Seabra, Vieira returned to the capital Bissau from Portugal on April 7, 2005. Descending to the city's main soccer stadium, was received by more than 5,000 supporters. Although Vieira's supporters had collected 30,000 signatures for a petition urging him to run for president, he did not immediately confirm his intention to do so, saying he would return "to restore his civic rights and register to vote in the next election" and that I wanted to contribute to peace and stability. He also said that he had forgiven his enemies and that he hoped others would forgive him for any harm he caused. On April 16, it was announced that he intended to stand as a candidate in the June 2005 presidential election in Guinea-Bissau. Although Vieira was deemed by many to be ineligible because he had been living in exile and due to the legal charges against him related to the 1985 murders of alleged coup plotters, the Supreme Court authorized him to stand for election in May 2005 along with Yet the. The court ruled unanimously in favor of his candidacy, claiming that he had already ended his exile when he returned in April and that no court records of the murder charges could be found. His old party, the PAIGC, endorsed former interim president Malam Bacai Sanhá as its candidate.

Elections were held in June 2005. Vieira obtained 28.87% of the votes, behind his opponent, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malam_Bacai_Sanhá Malam Bacai Sanhá]. In the second round, Vieira won with 52.35% of the votes and was sworn in as president on October 1 of that year.