Pro- Democracy Groups in Guinea-Bissau Urges ECOWAS, International Community to take Urgent Action to Save Country from Sinking.

By Raymond Enoch

A coalition of pro-democracy groups in Guinea-Bissau and the family of jailed opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira have launched urgent appeals to ECOWAS, the African Union and the wider international community to act swiftly and decisively to save the country from what they describe as a “dangerous descent into authoritarianism” following the 23 November 2025 general elections.

From civil society platforms in Bissau to family statements circulated from Lisbon, the message is unified and stark: constitutional order has been “brutally ruptured,” the will of the Bissau-Guinean people “confiscated,” and key political and judicial figures “illegally and arbitrarily detained” after the military intervened in the electoral process.

At the heart of the crisis is the suspension of the electoral process and the violent disruption of the vote-counting phase—events that coincided with the reported defeat of incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and the imminent publication of official results by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).

Afrikajom Center, a prominent regional human rights and democracy advocacy organisation, condemned what it called “the brutal breach of the Bissau-Guinean Constitution and the electoral process for the Presidential and Legislative elections of 23 November 2025.”

The group noted that the rupture occurred on 26 November 2025, “while the country was awaiting the announcement of the results that would reveal the President democratically elected by the people.”

In a strongly worded statement, Afrikajom Center said the military intervention and suspension of the process “constitutes a serious and grave violation of the sovereignty of the Bissau-Guinean people, as well as a threat to democracy, the rule of law, human rights, peace and stability in Guinea-Bissau.”

The organisation expressed particular shock at the context in which the events unfolded, stressing that it “expresses its surprise at the ease with which this coup d’état was carried out in the presence of ECOMOG elements who are supposed to prevent coups d’état in Guinea-Bissau.”

Afrikajom Center has called for “an immediate return to constitutional order and the continuation of the electoral process to allow the proclamation of results and the inauguration of the democratically elected President,” urging African and international partners to support “the rapid restoration of constitutional order and the continuation of the electoral process.”

It further “strongly recommends political dialogue among all Bissau-Guinean political actors in order to reach democratic, transparent, inclusive, just and peaceful solutions,” pledging to “continue to closely monitor the situation and to promote respect for democracy, the rule of law and human rights.”

Civil Society Denounces a “Grotesque Staging” to Block Election Results

Inside Guinea-Bissau, the Civil Society Consultation Space and the Popular Front have issued a joint press release painting a picture of a carefully orchestrated scheme to prevent the publication of results that would have confirmed electoral defeat for the incumbent president.

The two platforms say they are following “with deep concern, the evolution of the political and military situation in Guinea-Bissau, marked by arbitrary arrests, blatant usurpation of functions, and the grotesque staging of an alleged coup d’état, announced on 26 November 2025.”

They describe the episode as “a poor and desperate theatrical move” whose “central objective” was “the prevention of the publication of the election results scheduled for 27 November—results which would clearly confirm the crushing and humiliating defeat of Umaro Sissoco Embaló in the presidential elections.”

The statement also points to what it calls “the farcical appointment of individuals completely trusted by the defeated candidate to key positions within the State structure, including the imposition of Ilídio Vieira Té as Prime Minister,” describing this as “yet another irrefutable proof of the fraudulent nature of this shameful operation.”

According to the Popular Front and the Civil Society Consultation Space, these manoeuvres “culminated in the hurried escape of Embaló in the face of strong pressure exerted by ECOWAS.”

They argue that the “continued illegal and arbitrary detention of Eng. Domingos Simões Pereira and other Guinean citizens clearly and evidently shows that these so-called new authorities are mere instruments at the service of Umaro Sissoco Embaló, whose deep-seated hatred toward the said leader is notorious and widely known by public opinion.”

In response, the two platforms have taken a series of firm positions, including:

“strongly condemning the criminal attempt by the Armed Forces to confiscate the sovereign will of the people, expressed at the polls on 23 November”;

“categorically rejecting all fraudulent appointments imposed by the fake transitional authorities, including the Transitional President, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and Prime Minister—all of them imposed by the defeated candidate Umaro Sissoco Embaló through his political executors”;

and “alerting ECOWAS and the international community to the imminent danger represented by the delay in acting against the usurpers of power in Guinea-Bissau, remote-controlled by Umaro Sissoco Embaló, which constitutes a serious threat to peace in Guinea-Bissau and throughout West Africa.”

They urge ECOWAS “to demand, immediately and unconditionally, the official publication of the election results and the subsequent swearing-in of the legitimate President of the Republic elected by the people,” and call for “the massive mobilization of the Guinean people to resist the soldiers and political opportunists who are trying to set the country on fire in the service of the petty interests of Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his network of wrongdoers.”

The statement, signed in Bissau on 28 November 2025, frames the crisis not only as a domestic political dispute, but as a subregional security concern demanding urgent regional and international engagement.

From Lisbon, the family of PAIGC leader Domingos Simões Pereira has amplified these concerns, focusing on the human cost of the crisis and the fate of those detained.

In an “urgent appeal” shared on his social media accounts, the family denounces the “flagrant, illegal and absolutely arbitrary detention” of Simões Pereira and PAIGC deputy Octávio Lopes, who were reportedly arrested on the same day the military seized power.

The family insists that this episode represents “a very serious violation of the rule of law, an attack on democracy in Guinea-Bissau and a contempt for universal human rights.”

Their appeal demands the release of both men, “as well as all other citizens unjustly deprived of their liberty,” and holds “directly and unequivocally responsible all the moral and material authors of this repression.”

Expressing gratitude to the Guinean people and all those who have shown solidarity, the family calls “with renewed firmness” for the use of “all national and international legal mechanisms” to secure “the immediate and unconditional release of the detainees.”

They urge ECOWAS and the African Union “as a matter of urgency and in a forceful manner” to act “with determination and courage to restore constitutional order and guarantee the freedom of the detainees and of all citizens.”

The appeal further calls on the broader international community—including the United Nations, the European Union and bilateral partners—“not to limit themselves to statements of condemnation, but to intervene decisively to rescue democracy and justice in Guinea-Bissau.”

The family vows not to relent “until the freedom of the detainees and all Guinean citizens is fully restored and respected.”

Beyond political leaders, the crisis has engulfed key institutions of the justice system. Unions representing members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office report that five magistrates—Cipriano Naguelim, José Biaguê Badó, Quintino Inquebi, Romelo Barai and Mário Ialá—were arrested while overseeing the vote-counting process at the CNE in Bissau.

The unions say these detentions are “a serious violation of the prerogatives of the judiciary and represent a grave risk to the credibility of institutions and to citizens’ confidence in the democratic system.”

They demand “the immediate and unconditional release of the magistrates, as well as all persons detained outside legal parameters,” and call for “urgent intervention by the Attorney General of the Republic to restore legality and ensure institutional protection for inspectors of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”

Meanwhile, General Horta Inta-A has been sworn in as transitional President at the Armed Forces General Headquarters, one day after the military seized power and ahead of the announcement of the 23 November election results. The military has dismissed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, suspended the electoral process and media, and imposed a curfew.

The elections themselves reportedly took place peacefully but without the participation of PAIGC and its candidate, Domingos Simões Pereira, who were barred from the race. The party threw its support behind independent opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa, who later claimed victory in the first round over Embaló.

According to accounts cited in the appeals, Fernando Dias escaped an alleged raid by security forces on his campaign headquarters, during which Simões Pereira and Octávio Lopes were arrested. Opposition actors now describe the military takeover as a deliberate manoeuvre to block the publication of results that would have confirmed Embaló’s defeat.

Across all three statements—from Afrikajom Center, from the Civil Society Consultation Space and the Popular Front, and from the family of Simões Pereira—a common and 4
Afrikajom Center calls on “the African and international community to support the rapid restoration of constitutional order and the continuation of the electoral process,” while Guinea-Bissau’s civil society warns that any delay in firm regional action “constitutes a serious threat to peace in Guinea-Bissau and throughout West Africa.”

Simões Pereira’s family adds a direct plea to global institutions: “We urge the International Community – including the United Nations, the European Union and all bilateral partners – not to limit themselves to statements of condemnation, but to intervene, resolutely, to rescue democracy and justice in Guinea-Bissau.”

As the country stands at a dangerous crossroads, pro-democracy actors insist that only coordinated and decisive engagement—from ECOWAS, the AU, and the broader diplomatic community—can prevent Guinea-Bissau from, in their words, “sinking” into prolonged instability and authoritarian rule.