Abuja – Labour Party leader and 2023 presidential aspirant Peter Obi has condemned the military coup in Guinea‑Bissau, describing it as a “coup glitch” that undermines democracy, and has called out the Economic Community of West African States for what he sees as selective condemnation. In a post on his X handle titled “Reflecting on the ‘Coup Glitches’ in Guinea‑Bissau,” Obi said glitches of any kind should be condemned because they erode democratic processes.
Obi recounted arriving in Abuja on the morning of Thursday, November 27, after a meeting at the European Parliament, only to learn that former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was caught up in the reported coup situation in Guinea‑Bissau. “I immediately reached out to him, and he assured me that he was safe,” Obi wrote. He added that he was relieved to hear Dr. Jonathan had returned safely to Nigeria.
Dr. Jonathan, who was in Guinea‑Bissau as an election monitor, described the coup as suspicious, noting that the president himself announced the coup and shared details with the international community. Obi highlighted that the election in Guinea‑Bissau had been peaceful up to the point of the formal announcement of results, contrasting it with Nigeria’s 2023 polls which were marred by a “technical glitch.”
“While Nigeria’s own election was marred by a ‘technical glitch,’ the election in Guinea‑Bissau seems to have suffered from a ‘coup glitch.’ Yet, to this day, no one has clearly explained the nature of Nigeria’s glitch,” Obi stated. He questioned ECOWAS’s response: “ECOWAS was quick to sanction Guinea‑Bissau, but what does ECOWAS do when democracy is subverted not by soldiers, but by technology? What is the punishment for countries that announce ‘glitches’ at critical moments during an election? Do we only condemn coups that are visible with guns and ignore those carried out through a designed technological failure?”
Obi emphasized that whether technical or political, such challenges undermine democracy, hinder progress, and obstruct citizens’ rights to freely elect their leaders. “True democracy flourishes in environments of transparency and accountability, where the voice of the people is paramount and not interrupted by unforeseen glitches or political maneuverings,” he added.
He warned that the Guinea‑Bissau scenario represents two faces of the same crisis: ballots discarded by force and ballots obstructed by convenient technical issues. “In both cases, the people suffer, democracy is undermined, and the region sinks deeper into instability,” Obi said.
The statement from Obi comes amid reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) won at Peter Obi’s polling unit, a detail that was noted in the original article but not elaborated upon.
ECOWAS has not yet responded to Obi’s remarks, but the regional body has previously condemned the Guinea‑Bissau coup and called for the restoration of constitutional order.
The debate over the differing treatment of electoral setbacks in West Africa is likely to continue as stakeholders call for consistent standards in defending democratic processes.
