BISSAU, Nov 15 (AFP) - Guinea-Bissau's President Kumba Yala dissolved
parliament on Friday, officials said, in a move that means an end to Prime
Minister Alamara Nhasse's government in the west African country.
Yala signed a decree dissolving the national assembly and announcing
that an early parliamentary election will be held within 90 days of the
official publication of the presidential text, a statement said.
Yala took his decision, according to the statement, because of the
"extremely difficult, even critical economic crisis" that has hit this tiny
Portuguese-speaking country in west Africa.
Yala had said publicly on Thursday that he planned to scrap the current
parliament and dismiss the government, accusing it of incompetence.
The ruling Social Renovation Party (PRS), which won 37 of the 100 seats
in the single-chamber parliament in 1999, has been riven with dissent for
months.
The next elections were due during the course of next year.
A crisis among members of the ruling elite became apparent last August,
with tension notably between Yala and Nhasse, both members of the PRS.
Nhasse admitted differences between himself and Yala on August 25,
saying that he had not been a party to sackings and nominations to his
government and to the judiciary.
A few days later, however, he told the country's media that the "slight
misunderstanding had been quickly sorted out."
Guinea-Bissau was plunged into chaos when a rebellion spearheaded by
General Ansumane Mane in June 1998 led to the overthrow of the then
president, Joao Bernardo Vieira, a year later.
There was then a transition period followed by elections, which were
judged free and fair.
In November 2000 General Mane launched another coup attempt against
Yala, the democratically elected president, before being shot dead by
loyalist troops.
The decision Friday to dissolve parliament had been taken according to
"constitutional law and the prerogatives" conferred on the head of state,
according to the statement.
Before the announcement was made, Yala had talks with all the various
political parties and representatives of civil society.
Nhasse was the second prime minister to govern the country since Yala
came to power in January 2000, following his predecessor in the job,
Faustino Imbali, who was sacked in 2001.
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