The acting President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded on Sunday (11) a swift transition, led by an inclusive government, from the military junta that has ruled Guinea-Bissau since the November coup.
“Our discussions were constructive and I reiterated the call (…) for a brief transition, led by an inclusive government that reflects the political spectrum and society of Guinea-Bissau,” said Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone and current Chair of ECOWAS, on his account on the social network X.
Maada Bio led a high-level ECOWAS mission to Guinea-Bissau over the weekend to engage with the senior military leadership that seized power and established a “transitional government” for up to one year, led by General Horta N’ta, former Chief of Staff to the ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
Bio added that during the meeting he reiterated to the military junta the decisions taken by the organisation at its 68th summit in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
In that communiqué, ECOWAS rejected the “transition programme announced by the military leaders” following the 26 November 2025 coup and demanded the immediate release of all political detainees, as well as “a short transition, led by an inclusive government that reflects the country’s political and social diversity.”
The organisation also warned that targeted sanctions would be imposed on any individual or group obstructing the return to constitutional order.
According to local outlet O Democrata, the main point of disagreement during the meeting centred on the formation of a civilian-led inclusive government with a proposed duration of four months, as well as the release of opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira, head of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).
Following the meeting, the ECOWAS delegation visited independent candidate Fernando Dias da Costa and other political figures who had taken refuge at the Nigerian Embassy after the coup.
Bio was accompanied by Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, who arrived in Guinea-Bissau on Saturday.
Guinea-Bissau is regarded as one of Africa’s most unstable nations: since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, it has experienced four coups d’état (1980, 1998/99, 2003 and 2012).
General Horta N’ta, former Chief of Staff to Umaro Sissoco Embaló, was appointed “transitional president” through a coup that took place one day before the announcement of the provisional results of the presidential and legislative elections held on 23 November.
The coup was condemned by ECOWAS, the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union, as well as by the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), all of which are calling for the immediate restoration of constitutional order.
Source: Lusa
