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March 2 (UPI) -- An interim president appointed by the parliament of the west African nation of Guinea-Bissau has resigned, citing threats to his life amid a political crisis following contested elections. Cipriano Cassama, who was appointed Friday as the country's interim leader as two other candidates battled over who won elections held in January, abruptly resigned Sunday, saying his life was in danger and warning of looming political violence in the impoverished country.
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"I have decided to give up the role of interim president for which I was nominated, to avoid a bloodbath in Guinea-Bissau," Cassama said in a statement. "I fear for my physical integrity, my life and that of my family is in danger. I have no security."
Cassama, the speaker of Parliament, was appointed to the presidency on a temporary basis by the majority African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, or PAIGC, last week as presidential candidates Domingos Simoes Pereira and Umaro Sissoco Embalo fought over who won the Jan. 1 vote.
Cassama alleged soldiers loyal to Embalo, who swore himself into the presidency on Thursday, took away his security guards.
Pereira's party, PAIGC, has dominated Bissau politics since its independence from Portugal in 1974. However, it was Embalo, a 47-year-old ex-prime minister and military general, who won the vote in January, according to the country's election commission.
The commission's tabulation showed Embalo winning 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent for the ruling party candidate Pereira. Those results were immediately challenged in the country's Supreme Court as tainted by voter fraud.
The high court ordered a recount, and In late January, the electoral commission again named Embalo as winner of the presidential ballot.
PAIGC legally challenged the results a second time on Feb. 26, but Embalo went ahead with a swearing-in ceremony last week and replaced PAIGC's prime minister, Aristides Gomes, with his own, Nuno Gomes Nabiam.
