ECOWAS Slams Sanctions, Suspends Guinea-Bissau After Post-Election Coup

|By Adejumo Adekunle

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies after soldiers seized power and halted the country’s electoral process.

The decision came late Thursday during an emergency virtual session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC), chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, who leads the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.

In a toughly worded communiqué, the MSC said the suspension aligns with the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, stressing that Guinea-Bissau will remain sidelined until “full and effective constitutional order” returns.

The coup erupted on Wednesday, just three days after tense presidential and legislative elections. Mutinous officers shut the nation’s borders, disrupted the vote-counting process, and blocked the release of official results.

ECOWAS condemned the military takeover, describing the arrest of several individuals — including President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, widely expected to secure re-election — as unacceptable.

“The MSC condemns in the strongest terms the coup d’état perpetrated on 26 November 2025 and calls for the immediate restoration of constitutional order,” the statement declared. It also rejected any move to legitimise the power grab or derail the will of the electorate.

The regional bloc demanded the immediate release of Embaló, electoral officials, and other detained political figures. It also insisted that the electoral commission be allowed to announce Sunday’s results without interference.

Meanwhile, the coup leaders have appointed the army’s chief of staff, General Horta N’Tam, as transitional head of state for one year — a move ECOWAS has refused to recognise.