Africa-Press. The military council that seized power in Guinea-Bissau in late November announced new steps aimed at involving opposition political forces in the transitional period, in an effort to ease pressure from the regional bloc ECOWAS, which is calling for a swift return to constitutional order and civilian rule.
The military leaders, who refer to themselves as the “High Command of the Armed Forces,” said they plan to form an “inclusive” transitional government, allocating three ministerial posts to the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), and three others to the Social Renewal Party led by Fernando Dias, the main rival of ousted president Umaro Sissoco Embaló in the last election.
The junta has also released opposition leader and former prime minister Domingos Simões Pereira, who had been detained since the coup. Sources close to the military council said Dias has left the Nigerian embassy, where he sought refuge after the takeover, and is no longer under threat of arrest.
ECOWAS has suspended Guinea-Bissau’s membership and demanded the restoration of constitutional order and the resumption of the electoral process. However, the electoral commission said it was unable to complete the vote count after armed men seized ballot boxes and destroyed servers storing the results. In January, a presidential decree set 6 December as the new date for presidential and legislative elections.
The 26 November coup that ousted President Embaló was the ninth such takeover in West and Central Africa over the past five years. It disrupted the electoral process and plunged the country into an uncertain transitional phase, amid fears of prolonged political instability.
