ECOWAS has been holding an emergency summit on Thursday to address the crisis in Guinea-Bissau, following the military coup that toppled President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
General Horta N’Tam, who has assumed leadership of a one-year transition, has pledged to combat narcotrafficking and restore public order.
Chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States have been meeting virtually to review the situation after the 26 November military takeover.
The summit comes just hours after General Horta N’Tam — the army’s chief of staff — was sworn in as transitional president at the head of the Military High Council for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order.
He announced a transition period of no more than one year and vowed to “vigorously confront narcotrafficking networks whose activities corrode the Guinean state and society.” According to him, the seizure of power was justified by “mounting threats to democracy and political stability.”
The takeover immediately sparked strong political and international reactions. The Plataforma da Aliança Inclusiva – Terra Ranka (PAI-TR) coalition, which backs presidential candidate Fernando Dias da Costa, condemned the coup, accusing the military of attempting to block the release of election results it believes were favourable to its candidate.
The coalition maintains that compiled tallies “clearly designate” Dias da Costa as the first-round winner, and denounced the arrest of Domingos Simões Pereira — president of the PAIGC and of the coalition — along with several of his associates, demanding their immediate release.
The coup, carried out just hours before the publication of provisional results, was justified by the military as an operation to thwart a “destabilisation plot” involving politicians and drug-trafficking networks, according to military spokesman General Dinis N’Tchama.
The African Union, ECOWAS and Nigeria swiftly condemned the takeover, calling for an immediate return to constitutional order and the release of all detainees. This reaction comes despite regional observer missions praising the 23 November vote for its calm and orderly conduct.
Thursday’s extraordinary ECOWAS summit was to define a coordinated regional response to the political crisis. It takes place against a backdrop of structural fragility, as Guinea-Bissau continues to grapple with chronic instability since gaining independence in 1974.
The one-year transition led by General Horta N’Tam will face significant challenges, while Terra Ranka continues to push for the completion of the electoral process and the recognition of results from the polls.
AC/sf/lb/as/APA