Abuja – A coalition of 20 prominent African figures, including former Cabo Verde President Pedro Pires and former Cabo Verde foreign minister José Brito, issued a joint statement on Thursday demanding the immediate publication of the results of Guinea‑Bissau’s 23 November legislative and presidential elections and the official declaration of the winner. The group, which also comprises former senior ECOWAS officials, heads of international bodies and civil‑society leaders, warned that the military junta’s interference threatens the country’s democratic future.
The statement, titled “Restoring Constitutional Order and the Rule of Law in Guinea‑Bissau,” said: “ECOWAS must demand the truth (about the elections), protect the winner and request the freeing of the political actors being detained by the military junta.” It added that the ECOWAS Heads of State, meeting in a summit on 14 December, should “make a bold move towards solving the current crisis afflicting one of the most fragile states of the community.”
According to the signatories, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) was forced to halt the compilation of results after the army seized or destroyed documents and data from the eight regions, a move described as “a desperate attempt to destroy the archives.” They noted that the CNE declared its inability to continue the count under threat from security services and the military.
The group praised ECOWAS for convening a virtual summit after the 26 November coup and for sending a mission led by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio. “We salute the convening of a virtual summit by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government… in the aftermath of the (26 November) putsch as well as its condemnation of the staged coup undertaken by key military officers all closely linked to the outgoing president (Umaro Sissoco Embaló,” the statement read.
The signatories condemned the “comic arrest” of President Embaló, who they said “rushed to inform the whole world, in a suspicious enthusiasm, that he had been deposed,” while the army seized election materials and detained opposition figures. They warned that accepting such actions would signal that “the only rule is that of the most powerful.”
The statement called on the African Union, United Nations and the Community of Portuguese‑Speaking Countries (CPLP) to intervene, and urged African public opinion and the international community to reject the undemocratic maneuvers. “We believe that Guinea‑Bissau deserves to be supported to conclude its electoral process, the building of democratic institutions and a rule of law‑based State,” the group affirmed.
Copies of the election tallies are said to have been preserved, and the signatories said coordinated international pressure could secure their publication.
The signatories include former President of Cabo Verde Pedro Pires, former Minister of Foreign Affairs José Brito, former ECOWAS Executive Secretary Abass Bundu, former CPLP Secretary‑General Luis Fonseca, former ECOWAS Commissioner Hajia Halima Ahmed, former CODESRIA Executive Secretary Olukeshi Adebayo, and many other distinguished African personalities.
