President José Mário Vaz of Guinea-Bissau, in a decree issued Tuesday evening, set the date of the presidential election to 24 November, a 24-hour shift compared to the date previously chosen by the National Electoral Commission.
The national election body, in its calendar given to the President of the Republic, had indeed planned the holding of the presidential election on November 3 and the second round, if necessary, on December 8.
Guinea-Bissau has been experiencing a political crisis for several months due to the non-appointment of a Prime Minister after the parliamentary elections. No party has obtained an absolute majority to inherit the post of Prime Minister, and political parties have failed to create the necessary alliances to form a government.
An African Union (AU) mission is currently visiting Bissau to discuss with local political authorities and civil society organizations (CSOs) on ways overcome this deadlock.
An ECOWAS ministerial mission, led by Nigerian Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, also arrived in Bissau on Wednesday. It should meet with political parties and MPs to resolve the dispute over the formation of the Parliament’s Bureau and the appointment of a Prime Minister.
NM/ard/cd/fss/abj/APA