President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has officially declared his candidacy for a second term, a move that further plunges Guinea-Bissau into turmoil following the expulsion of the ECOWAS mission.
All this comes amid opposition claims that his presidential mandate has already expired.
Embaló announced his intention to run in the November 30 presidential election upon returning on Monday from trips to Russia, Azerbaijan, and France. In an interview with AFP, he confidently stated, “I will be a candidate, and I will win in the first round.”
The political climate has become increasingly tense after the abrupt end of the ECOWAS and UNOWAS missions, which were forced to leave the country last Saturday following threats of expulsion from the President.
“A situation that could spiral out of control”
In an interview with journalist Júlio Veracruz Martins, Domingos Simões Pereira, the former head of the dissolved National Assembly, warned that the situation could “spiral out of control at any moment.” He expressed concern over the persistent political instability, stating, “We continue to face a political scenario that could derail at any time. It is a framework defined by uncertainty—something that every nation aspiring for peace and stability seeks to avoid.”
The heart of the crisis revolves around a dispute regarding the presidential mandate. Simões Pereira asserted that Embaló’s term officially ended on February 27: “He began his mandate on February 27, 2020, and if it’s a five-year term, it is clear that it concluded on February 27, 2025.”
A tenure marked by tensions
Elected in a fiercely contested vote in 2020, Embaló has faced ongoing political instability during his tenure. In December 2023, he dissolved the opposition-dominated National Assembly after armed clashes, which he labeled a coup attempt.
Originally, Embaló scheduled early legislative elections for November 24, 2024, but later postponed them indefinitely due to logistical and financial challenges. On February 23, he announced that both presidential and legislative elections would be held on November 30, 2025—a decision that Simões Pereira condemned as “utterly incoherent” and challenged the legality of the assembly’s dissolution.
Calls for dialogue amid International threats
Amid the escalating crisis, Simões Pereira has advocated for a “broad internal dialogue platform” that includes all political parties and civil society. “It’s crucial for the National Assembly’s Standing Committee to gather all political and social forces to forge the necessary consensus,” he emphasized.
When asked about personal threats, Simões Pereira indicated that there is a pervasive atmosphere affecting “all Bissau-Guinean citizens who have exercised their freedom to defend their beliefs over the past five years.”
The Parliament’s Standing Committee is set to determine at its next meeting whether to request intervention from the African Union and ECOWAS. This follows the expulsion of the ECOWAS mediation mission from the country at Embaló’s insistence, as he criticized foreign interference in Guinea-Bissau’s internal affairs.
AC/sf/lb/abj/APA