Not a single democratically elected leader has ever finished a term in office in the west African country infamous for coups
Elections in one of Africa's most fragile democracies were held on Sunday amid fears that the army could be plotting a coup.
Half a million voters in Guinea-Bissau, the tiny former Portuguese colony on Africa's west Atlantic coast, chose from nine candidates vying from the presidency in elections closely monitored by the international community.
But even as voting was taking place, there were fears that the military – who have toppled almost every previous elected government – were unhappy with the polls.
"There is the impression that the army is not happy," said Fadimata Alainchair, as resident in the capital Bissau. "They are seen as one of the problems here and no one knows what is going to happen – things may just blow up in the middle of the night."
The power of the army is seen as one of the biggest problems for the country, which has in recent years become a hub for cocaine trafficking from South America.
None of the country's democratically elected leaders have ever finished a term in office. The last president, Malam Bacai Sanha, died in January from complications related to diabetes. But all other previous presidents were toppled by military coups, including President João Bernardo Vieira who was killed by soldiers in March 2009.
Reform of the military has been a key election pledge for some candidates. Frontrunner Carols Gomes, 62, or CaDoGo as he is popularly known, has promised it too. His own term was marked by both army mutiny and a coup. Gomes, rumoured to be Guinea-Bissau's richest man, has also promised to make minister Maria Adiatu Diallo Nandigna the country's first female prime minister.
Other candidates include former president Kumba Yala, 59, who was overthrown in a coup in 2003, and Henrique Rosa, 66, who served as transitional president in 2004-5.
The successful candidate – expected to be announced on Wednesday – will face challenges of extricating government from narcotics trade, which experts say implicates military and political figures alike.
Although official figures suggest that 98% of Guinea-Bissau's GDP comes from the export of cashew nuts, an estimated 800-1,000 kg of cocaine is flown into the country every night, along with an unknown amount transported by sea by traffickers taking advantage of the country's porous borders, uninhabited archipleagos and weak governance.
Early indications from observers suggested that the elections had met international standards. "We have covered six out of seven regions. What we have seen has been free and fair," said Ian Paisley Jnr, MP for North Antrim and member of UK's All Parliamentary Group on Guinea-Bissau, which formed part of the international delegation monitoring the voting.
"I've travelled over 100 miles today, visited two dozen polling station, and I haven't seen one soldier or police officer. It has been a very transparent process."