These elections were held in 2005 and saw the return of former president President Vieira to power with a promise of 'national reconciliation'.

The success of that promise can be measure by his assassination in March 2009. Malam Bacai Sanha then ruled Guinea-Bissau as a semi-presidential republic until his death in January 2012. After further turmoil, Jose Mario Vaz served as President of Guinea-Bissau from 23th June 2014 to 27th February 2020. Vaz ran as an independent in the 2019 elections but received only 12% of the vote in the first round and failed to advance to the second round with Umaro Sissoco Embalo assuming the presidency on 27th February 2020.

Today Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world, is massively in debt and is reliant on foreign aid to prevent its total collapse as a nation state with most of its population engaged in subsistence farming of rice and corn while those employed by the state frequently find their wages unpaid. Guinea Bissau also has an income from illicit drugs flowing from South America into Europe. Guinea-Bissau also has one of the highest child mortality rates for the under fives in the world with, in 2019, there being 78.5 deaths per 1,000 live births and life expectancy of the rest of the population 2.106 million (2022) is around 59.65 years (2021).

The majority of the population is illiterate, with just over 27% of females being able to read and write. Guinea-Bissau is in 179th place out of 191 countries and territories in 2021 when ranked in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and the living standards of a country.