Guinea-Bissau’s military-led authorities have announced plans to include the PAIGC, the country’s main opposition party, in a transitional government while releasing its leader and former prime minister, Domingos Simões Pereira, from detention. Pereira, however, remains under house arrest as investigations continue.
The move follows the November 26 coup in which soldiers operating as the Military High Command removed President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and installed Major-General Horta Inta-a as interim leader, an upheaval that halted both presidential and legislative elections and marked the ninth coup in West and Central Africa in five years.
In a communication sent to the regional bloc ECOWAS, the interim authorities said the proposed transition would allocate ministerial positions to both the PAIGC and the Party for Social Renewal, while also committing to the release of political detainees.
The steps appear aimed at easing regional pressure after ECOWAS suspended Guinea-Bissau and demanded a swift return to civilian rule.
The junta also confirmed that Fernando Dias, leader of the Party for Social Renewal and a key political figure in the interrupted elections, is no longer facing arrest.
ECOWAS has continued to call for the restoration of constitutional order, though electoral authorities say the vote cannot resume after ballots were seized and election data destroyed during the unrest.
