The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies in response to Wednesday’s military takeover.
The decision was announced late Thursday after an emergency virtual meeting of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC), chaired by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, who currently leads the Authority of Heads of State and Government.
The MSC said the suspension was in line with the bloc’s 2001 Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, stressing that Guinea-Bissau will remain excluded until “full and effective constitutional order” is restored.
Military officers seized power just three days after Guinea-Bissau’s disputed presidential and legislative elections, suspending the vote-counting process, shutting the country’s borders and blocking the announcement of results.
The coup leaders also detained several political figures, including incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who was widely considered the frontrunner in Sunday’s polls.
ECOWAS condemned the power grab and the arrest of political leaders, warning that the actions undermine democratic stability in a region already grappling with a series of coups in recent years.
