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Kumba Ialá (born March 15 1953) was the first democratically elected President of Guinea-Bissau after the military coup that deposed João Bernardo Vieira. Ialá took office in 2000 after winning election in 1999. He replaced the acting president, Malam Bacai Sanhá.
Guinea-Bissau's economy had been devastated by the civil wars it had been experiencing, and Ialá was not successful in reviving it. Ialá accused The Gambia of fomenting rebellion in Guinea-Bissau, a charge which the foreign minister of The Gambia denied. He also began imprisoning domestic opposition activists that he accused of plotting against his government. His fears were often justified, as there were a number of coup attempts. One was finally successful on September 14, 2003; Ialá was deposed and arrested.
In March 2005, he was chosen as his party's presidential candidate for the election scheduled to be held on June 19, despite being officially banned from politics for five years. [1] (http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=46336&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=GUINEA-BISSAU) The Supreme Court cleared him to stand in the election in May 2005, and soon afterwards, in mid-May, Ialá said that he was withdrawing his resignation as president and would resume his office to serve out the remainder of his term. [2] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4552721.stm) 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 a few days later and was dispersed by police with tear gas. [3] (http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47157&SelectRegion=West_Africa&SelectCountry=GUINEA-BISSAU)
In late May, he occupied the presidential palace with a group of armed men for about four hours before leaving, according to an announcement by the army. [4] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4578305.stm)de:Kumba Ialá