Eminent Africans Demand Release of Guinea-Bissau Election Results, Urge ECOWAS to Protect Democracy By Raymond Enoch.
Twenty eminent African statesmen, diplomats, civil society leaders and human rights advocates have issued an urgent joint statement demanding the immediate publication of results from Guinea-Bissau’s November 23 legislative and presidential elections, warning that the country’s fragile democracy is facing an orchestrated military hijack.
The signatories — including former President of Cabo Verde Pedro Pires, ex-Foreign Minister José Brito, former senior ECOWAS officials and respected regional policy experts — called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to take decisive action to “demand the truth, protect the winner and request the freeing of political actors being detained by the military junta.”
In their statement, titled “Restoring Constitutional Order and the Rule of Law in Guinea-Bissau,” the group said ECOWAS leaders meeting at a Summit on 14 December must make a “bold move” to end the crisis and safeguard the integrity of elections in one of West Africa’s most unstable states.
According to the eminent Africans, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) was forced under threat from security forces to abandon tallies and halt result compilation. They allege that soldiers destroyed, seized or concealed vital electoral documents “in a desperate attempt to destroy the archives” before results could be made public.
“It is not late to salvage the democratic aspirations based on the tenets of the rule of law in Guinea-Bissau,” the statement noted, praising ECOWAS for convening a virtual summit following the November 26 putsch and for condemning what they described as a “staged coup” involving senior military officers loyal to outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who was seeking re-election.
The group also welcomed the decision by ECOWAS Chair, President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, to dispatch a mission to Bissau, but said more coordinated regional and international pressure is urgently needed.
“As active members of civil society from across Africa, we cannot keep quiet in the face of such blatant violations,” the statement said. “Accepting that a group of military and political players collude to deprive their compatriots of the right to freely choose their leaders through transparent elections would signal to the whole of West Africa that the only rule is that of the most powerful.”
The signatories condemned what they described as “the comic arrest” of outgoing President Embaló who, they allege, publicly exaggerated claims of being deposed, even as the army seized CNE headquarters, confiscating machines and documents and detaining officials perceived to be opposition sympathisers.
They warned that Guinea-Bissau’s long-standing political vulnerabilities, if not urgently addressed, could plunge the already volatile West African region deeper into insecurity and democratic reversal.
The group called for immediate involvement of the African Union, United Nations and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), urging them to step in before the situation deteriorates further.
Sources quoted in the letter insist that copies — including original tallies — of the vote count still exist and said that “it will only take coordinated international pressure to have them published.”
Embaló has reportedly fled first to Senegal, then Congo-Brazzaville and most recently Morocco, amid mounting diplomatic criticism. Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has dismissed the alleged coup as a “sham,” while reports indicate Embaló is seeking transit to Portugal with plans to return to reclaim power.
“We invite African public opinion and the rest of the world to express, by all legal means, their refusal of the undemocratic maneuvers underway,” the eminent Africans said, adding that the people of Guinea-Bissau have shown “remarkable maturity.”
They further stressed that arguments citing the “impossibility” of finalising the vote are unacceptable, insisting that Guinea-Bissau deserves strong continental support to conclude its interrupted electoral process and preserve a constitutional state grounded in rule of law.
List of Signatories to the call include,
Former Cabo Verde President Pedro Pires; former Cabo Verde Foreign Minister José Brito; Dr Abass Bundu, former ECOWAS Executive Secretary; Ambassador Luis Fonseca, former CPLP Secretary-General; Hajia Halima Ahmed, former ECOWAS Commissioner; human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN); Prof Mahmoud Mamdani; Dr Alioune Tine; Dr Gilles Yabi; and other prominent academics, activists and regional leaders.
Paradigm News International will continue to monitor developments in Guinea-Bissau as ECOWAS prepares for its December 14th Summit, which could determine the political future of Guinea-Bissau and set a defining precedent for electoral integrity across West Africa.
