page_title: Kumba Ialá
section_title: 2005 presidential election and afterwards
hierarchical_section_title: Kumba Ialá / 2005 presidential election and afterwards
caption_attribution_description: English: Koumba Yalá, presidential candidate in Guinea-Bissau is campaigning in 2009
context_page_description: Kumba Ialá Embaló, also spelled Yalá, 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 Balanta ethnic group and was President of the Social Renewal Party. In 2008 he converted to Islam and took the name Mohamed Ialá Embaló. He was the founder of the Party for Social Renewal. In 2014, Ialá died from a cardiopulmonary arrest.
context_section_description: On 26 March 2005, he was chosen as the PRS candidate for 19 June presidential election by the party's national council, despite being officially banned from politics for five years. Ialá submitted his candidate application to the Supreme Court on 11 April, arguing that since he had signed his agreement to respect his ban from politics at his home and not in his office, it was invalid. The Supreme Court cleared him to stand in the election in its list of approved candidates published on 10 May, with five judges in favor of permitting his candidacy and one opposed. The decision was based on the fact that Ialá had resigned prior to the signing of the transitional charter which had barred him from politics, with the judges ruling that the charter should not be retroactively applied to Ialá in a way contrary to his interests. Soon afterwards, on 15 May, Ialá said that he was withdrawing his resignation as President and would resume office to serve out the remainder of his term. Although this increased the country's political tension, the declaration did not appear to lead to much immediate consequence; a rally of some of Ialá's supporters was held two days later and was dispersed by police with tear gas.
  In late May, ten days after declaring his resignation withdrawn, he occupied the presidential palace at night with a group of armed men for about four hours before leaving, according to an announcement by the army. According to official results he came in third in 19 June election with 25% of the vote, behind Malam Bacai Sanhá and Nino Vieira, and thus could not participate in the second round run-off. Ialá said that he actually came in first, with about 38% of the vote, and that the result was a fraud. At least four people were reported killed when Ialá's supporters clashed with police after the results were announced. Ialá went to Senegal for talks with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, along with Vieira and Sanhá, and on 27 June he said at a news conference that he accepted the result in the interest of peace and democracy, while still claiming to have actually won. Ialá said on this occasion that he "rejected violence on principle" and predicted that he would eventually regain the presidency, noting that his opponents were older than himself "and tomorrow they will disappear."
  On 2 July, Ialá announced his support for Vieira's candidacy in the second round. He called Vieira "a symbol of the construction of the Guinean state and of national unity because he proclaimed our independence in the hills of Boe" and said that he could "be relied upon to defend our national independence, to oppose neo-colonialism, to build the republic and promote peace, stability and above all, national reconciliation". Given Ialá's sharp hostility to Vieira in previous years, this endorsement was viewed as surprising by many, and there was reportedly significant dissatisfaction with the decision among Ialá's supporters. The second round, held on 24 July, resulted in Vieira's victory.
  On 27 October 2006, Ialá returned to Guinea-Bissau after a year of voluntary exile in Morocco. On 12 November he was elected as President of the PRS with about 70% of the vote at the party's third ordinary congress, defeating Alberto Nambeia, although his re-election was disputed by opponents within the PRS. He denounced the government of prime minister Aristides Gomes as "illegitimate and illegal" and said that it should be dissolved and early parliamentary elections should be held.
  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. On 23 August 2007, however, the Supreme Court of Guinea-Bissau reversed that decision and restored Ialá to the party leadership.
  After spending more time in exile in Morocco, Ialá returned to Bissau on 7 July 2008 to register for the November 2008 parliamentary election. On that occasion, he predicted that the PRS would win the election with a majority of 
caption: Ialá campaigning at 2009 presidential elections
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