Civil Society Resumes Watchdog for Guinea-Bissau’s Presidential Run-Off · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Getting set for Guinea-Bissau's presidential run-off on May 18, 2014, the Group of Civil Society Organizations for the Elections (GOSCE) resumed its monitoring activities of the electoral process on May 14.
Live updates from the ground can be followed in the website bissauvote.com, which provides a map of reports that are being collected by a network of about 400 citizen observers spread around the country. A press release [pdf] for the second round informs:
Os monitores irão enviar dados via SMS sobre o desenrolar da campanha eleitoral, a cobertura dos meios de comunicação, em particular da rádio, meio de comunicação privilegiado na Guiné-Bissau, as actividades de educação cívica eleitoral e sobre o processo de votação nas oito regiões e no Sector Autónomo de Bissau.
Monitors will send data via SMS about the ongoing electoral campaign, media coverage (radio in particular, the most privileged media in Guinea-Bissau), civic electoral education activities, and the voting process in the eight regions of the Autonomous Sector of Bissau.
The first round of the elections, on April 13, which saw a turn-out of more than 80 percent, was also monitored by GOSCE (a coalition of 15 national organizations), in partnership with non-governmental organization One World and with the support of the European Union, Global Voices reported.
The run-off is being held between José Mário Vaz, from the historical PAIGC party, and Nuno Nabiam, running as an independent. The final vote takes place more than two years after the military coup d'etat that interrupted Guinea-Bissau's 2012 elections, a few days before the presidential run-off.