Guinea-Bissau President Threatens to Expel ECOWAS Mission Amid Election Dispute
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Reuters – Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has threatened to expel a political mission sent by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the bloc announced on Sunday.
Tensions have escalated over the timing of Embalo’s presidential term, which began in 2020, raising fears of unrest in the West African nation, which has a history of military coups. The opposition argues that Embalo’s term should have ended last week, while the Supreme Court of Justice ruled it concludes on September 4.
Embalo, who chaired ECOWAS from mid-2022 to mid-2023, declared on February 23 that the presidential and legislative elections would be delayed until November 30.
In an effort to reach a resolution, ECOWAS deployed a mission from February 21 to 28, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), to facilitate discussions on organizing the elections. However, ECOWAS stated on Sunday that the mission left Guinea-Bissau on March 1 after Embalo threatened to expel it.
The dispute comes as Embalo visited Moscow last Wednesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 1974.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
