Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Presidential Election in Guinea-Bissau
The Government of Japan applauds the fact that the second ballot of the presidential election, following the first on November 28, 1999, was held in a democratic and peaceful manner on January 16, 2000 in Guinea-Bissau, where a shift to civilian rule has been under way since the political turmoil caused by the civil war in June of 1998 came under control. Japan welcomes the holding of the ballot as a major step toward democratization.
The Government of Japan strongly hopes that the country will move forward toward more advanced democracy under the leadership of a new President democratically elected in the recent election, take measures to reconstruct the nation, and achieve domestic stability.
Japan recognizes that the series of national elections held since the end of last year has great significance in the process of shifting to civilian rule, and therefore, contributed 240,000 U.S. dollars to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to purchase ballot boxes and voting slips to support the smooth conduct of the elections.