party elections in 1994. He was then ousted in a putsch in 1999 after a civil war. Vieira is under investigation on charges of betraying the state and arms-trafficking while in office. But these accusations could be wiped clean under an amnesty law, before parliament, which is meant to absolve all political crimes since 1980. Another former president, Malam Bacai Sanha, will stand in the election for the PAIGC party, which fought colonial rule and led Guinea-Bissau for 26 years after its independence before winning parliamentary polls in April last year. Among the rejected candidates was former prime minister Francisco Jose Fadul, leader of the country's second biggest opposition party. --SP 2353 Local Time 2053 GMT
