ECOWAS demands return to constitutional rule in Guinea-Bissau
The military seized power on November 26, just three days after contested elections in which both ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and challenger Fernando Dias da Costa claimed victory. Major-General Horta Inta-a was sworn in as interim president under a Military High Command, and civil servant Ilidio Vieira Te, a former finance minister, was appointed prime minister.
The military government released a 29-article transitional charter last week, outlining a 12-month framework that would see presidential and legislative elections at the end of the period.
A 65-member National Transition Council, including ten senior military officers, would serve as the legislative body. The charter also proposes sweeping legal and institutional changes, including revisions to the suspended constitution and modifications to electoral bodies.
At its annual summit in Abuja, Nigeria, on Sunday, ECOWAS said the plan “did not meet regional requirements for restoring civilian authority.” The bloc called for the immediate release of political detainees and an inclusive, short-term transition process leading to an elected government.
“The authority shall impose targeted sanctions on individuals or groups of persons that obstruct the transition process or that obstruct the process of returning the country to constitutional order,” ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray said.
The bloc has suspended Guinea-Bissau from its decision-making bodies and tasked its chair to lead a high-level delegation to negotiate terms for restoring constitutional governance.
ECOWAS reiterated its “zero tolerance for unconstitutional change of government.”
ECOWAS has faced a wave of military takeovers in the region in recent years. Chairman Julius Maada Bio described these coups as “a major threat to regional stability.” Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, now under military rule, have withdrawn from the bloc amid tensions. Pressure has also risen after a failed coup attempt in Benin this month, which authorities said was thwarted with support from regional troops.
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