The Economic Community of West African States has moved decisively against Guinea-Bissau, suspending the country from all its decision-making organs following Wednesday’s abrupt military seizure of power.
The sanction, announced late Thursday after an emergency virtual session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, signals a firm regional pushback against what leaders described as an “unacceptable derailment” of democratic order. The meeting was chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, who currently heads the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.
In a communiqué issued after the session, the bloc aligned its position with the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. The statement stressed that Guinea-Bissau remains suspended until constitutional rule is fully restored and civilian authority returns.
The coup, which erupted barely three days after a tense presidential and legislative election, has plunged the fragile nation back into uncertainty. Mutinous soldiers halted the collation of votes, sealed the country’s borders and blocked the release of official results.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who was widely tipped to secure re-election, was arrested alongside several political figures and electoral officials.
ECOWAS delivered a forceful condemnation, insisting that the detention of elected leaders and the disruption of the electoral process violates long-standing regional norms. “The Council condemns in the strongest terms the coup d’état perpetrated on 26 November 2025 and calls for the immediate restoration of constitutional order,” the communiqué declared.
The bloc rejected any arrangement aimed at legitimising the military’s intervention or tampering with the people’s mandate. It called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained officials and demanded that the electoral commission be allowed to publish the results of Sunday’s vote without interference.
