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The Party for Social Renewal ( pt, Partido da Renovação Social, PRS) is a
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
. It is one of the country's leading parties and is currently the main opposition party.


History


1990s

Multi-party democracy was introduced to Guinea-Bissau by the ruling
African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde ( pt, Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, PAIGC) is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. Originally formed to peacefully campaign for independence from ...
(PAIGC) in May 1991, and the PRS was established on 14 January 1992 by
Kumba Ialá Kumba Ialá Embaló, also spelled Yalá (15 March 1953 – 4 April 2014), was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was president from 17 February 2000 until he was deposed in a bloodless military coup on 14 September 2003. He belonged to the Balant ...
, a former PAIGC member. Ialá was the party's presidential candidate in the 1994 general elections. He received 22% of the vote in the first round on 3 July,Elections in Guinea-Bissau
African Elections Database
progressing to the run-off. Although the other opposition parties united behind him he lost to incumbent President
João Bernardo Vieira João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira (; 27 April 1939 – 2 March 2009) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was the President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1999, except for a three-day period in May 1984, and from 2005 to 2009. After seizing power ...
by the narrow margin of 52%–48%.Bogdan Szajkowski (2005) ''Political Parties of the World'', p271 In the parliamentary elections the PRS won 10.3% of the vote and won 12 seats, emerging as the third-largest party in the National People's Assembly.Elections held in 1994
IPU
After Vieira was deposed on 7 May 1999, the transition government under
Malam Bacai Sanhá Malam Bacai Sanhá () (5 May 1947 – 9 January 2012) was a Guinea-Bissau politician who was President of Guinea-Bissau from 8 September 2009 until his death on 9 January 2012. A member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Ca ...
arranged new elections. Ialá ran as the PRS candidate for president for a second time, emerging as the leading candidate in the first round. In the second round he defeated Sanhá by 72%–28%, becoming the country's first non-PAIGC president. The PRS also emerged as the largest party in the National People's Assembly, winning 38 of the 102 seats, whilst the PAIGC was also beaten by the
Resistance of Guinea-Bissau-Bafatá Movement The Resistance of Guinea-Bissau-Bafatá Movement (, RGB-MB) is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. Once the main opposition organisation in the country, it is today a minor party without parliamentary representation. History The party was establ ...
. The PRS nominated
Caetano N'Tchama Caetano N'Tchama (23 January 1955 - 15 December 2007) was a Bissau-Guinean politician and former Prime Minister. He held that position from 19 February 2000 to 19 March 2001 and was a member of the Social Renewal Party (PRS). Early life N'Tcham ...
as
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
in January 2000.


2000s

Ialá resigned as President of the PRS in May 2000, although he continued to play an influential role in the party. Prime Minister
Alamara Nhassé ''This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Ntchia and the second or paternal family name is Nhassé.'' Alamara Ntchia Nhassé (born 2 June 1957) is a Bissau-Guinean politician, who was Prime Minister from 9 De ...
was elected as party leader in January 2002 at a PRS convention. However, following his dismissal as Prime Minister later in the year, he resigned as party leader and was replaced by
Alberto Nan Beia Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Alberti ...
. The PRS's time in power was characterized by a poor economic situation and political instability. Ialá, alleged by critics to be erratic and to have autocratic tendencies, dissolved parliament in November 2002, but early elections intended to be held in February 2003 were delayed several times, until Ialá was ousted in a coup led by
Veríssimo Correia Seabra Veríssimo Correia Seabra (February 16, 1947 – October 6, 2004) was a Bissau-Guinean general, known for leading a coup that deposed Kumba Ialá on September 14, 2003. Early life Correia Seabra was born in the capital city, Bissau, on Februar ...
on 14 September 2003. Seabra's military government chose the PRS's general secretary
Artur Sanhá ''This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Artur and the second or paternal family name is Sanhá.'' António Artur Sanhá (born 1965) is a Bissau-Guinean politician. He was the Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau ...
to become Prime Minister of a transitional government, with
Henrique Rosa Henrique Pereira Rosa (18 January 1946 – 15 May 2013) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 2003 to 2005. He was born in 1946 in Bafatá. Interim President of Guinea-Bissau Rosa served as the int ...
as President; they were sworn in on 28 September. Sanhá took office despite the opposition of 15 of the 17 involved political parties, which said that the Prime Minister should be an independent. The 2004 parliamentary elections were won by the PAIGC, which won 45 of the 100 seats; the PRS emerged as the second strongest party in the National People's Assembly with 35 seats. The PRS agreed to support PAIGC in parliament in return for a number of important positions, although it did not get any ministers in the government. Ialá was released from house arrest shortly before the elections, and in March 2005 he was nominated by the PRS as its candidate in the
presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
that year. However, he finished in third place in the first round, failing to qualify for the run-off, contested by Sanhá and Vieira. Ialá and the PRS protested against the outcome of the first round, claiming to have actually received the most votes, but Ialá later accepted the outcome, while still claiming to have received the most votes, and endorsed Vieira for the second round. After Vieira's assumption of office on 1 October 2005, a crisis within the PAIGC led to several splits that resulted in the PRS becoming the largest party in parliament. On 12 November 2006, Ialá was re-elected head of the PRS at the party's third congress, with about 70% of the vote; the previous leader, Nan Beia, received 20%. His victory was, however, disputed by his opponents within the party. In March 2007, the PRS formed a three-party alliance with the PAIGC and the
United Social Democratic Party The United Social Democratic Party ( pt, Partido Unido Social Democrático, PUSD) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Guinea-Bissau. History The party was established on 30 May 1991 and legalised on 6 June 1992.Peter Karibe Mend ...
, as the three parties sought to form a new government. This led to a successful no-confidence vote against Prime Minister
Aristides Gomes Aristides Gomes (born 8 November 1954
.
) is a Bissau-Guinean politician who was the
Martinho Ndafa Kabi ''This name uses Portuguese naming customs. the first or maternal family name is Ndafa and the second or paternal family name is Kabi.'' Martinho Ndafa Kabi (born September 17, 1957
of the PAIGC for Prime Minister, with President Vieira appointing him to the post. On 17 April a new government was named, composed of ministers from the three parties. In May 2007, following an appeal for the annulment of the third ordinary congress by a faction of the PRS opposed to Ialá, the Regional Court of Bissau cancelled the congress' resolutions and removed Ialá from the party leadership. However, on 23 August 2007 the Supreme Court of Guinea-Bissau reversed this decision and restored Ialá to the party leadership.Koumba Yala réhabilité leader du Parti de la rénovation sociale
Panapress, 23 August 2007 Members of the PRS were included in the government headed by
Carlos Correia Carlos Correia (6 November 1933 – 14 August 2021) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 17 September 2015 to 12 May 2016. Previously he was Prime Minister from 27 December 1991 to 26 October 1994, from 6 ...
, which was appointed on 9 August 2008.Guinea-Bissau gets 21 new cabinet ministers
African Press Agency, 10 August 2008
Novo primeiro-ministro bissau-guineense forma Governo
Panapress, 9 August 2008
The government was dominated by Vieira loyalists and members of PAIGC,Guine-Bissau: Novo PM divulga lista completa do seu Governo
Lusa, 9 August 2008
but the PRS was given five of the 28 cabinet posts. The November 2008
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
saw the PRS win 28 seats, remaining the second-largest party behind the PAIGC. In the 2009 presidential elections Ialá lost to Malam Bacai Sanhá in the run-off.


2010s

Ialá finished in second place in the first round of the 2012 presidential elections, but a run-off between him and
Carlos Gomes Júnior Carlos Domingos Gomes Júnior (born December 19, 1949)
(in Portuguese).
is a military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
. Ialá died shortly before the
2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014. * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presi ...
. The 2014 elections saw the party nominate Abel Incanda as its presidential candidate, but he finished fourth in the first round with 7% of the vote. However, the PRS won 41 of the 102 seats in the National People's Assembly, remaining the second-largest party after the PAIGC.


References

{{Guinea-Bissau political parties Political parties in Guinea-Bissau Political parties established in 1992 1992 establishments in Guinea-Bissau