The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making organs after a military coup unseated President Umaro Sissoco Embaló on November 26.
The decision was announced after an emergency virtual summit held on Thursday, where heads of state from across the region condemned the seizure of power and demanded the immediate return to constitutional governance.
According to details released through the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the regional bloc insisted that it would not recognize any political framework that legitimizes the disruption of the country’s democratic process.
ECOWAS further urged Guinea-Bissau’s National Electoral Commission to proceed with announcing the results of the tightly contested November 23 presidential election without further delay.
In its communiqué, ECOWAS called for the unconditional release of President Embaló, election officials, and other political figures detained by the military.
The bloc also warned that those responsible for the coup would be held personally and collectively accountable for any harm caused during the crisis.
The extraordinary session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council — chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio — brought together several West African leaders, including the presidents of Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Cabo Verde and Sierra Leone.
Senior representatives from Benin, Gambia and Togo also participated, alongside the presidents of the ECOWAS and African Union Commissions, the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Guinea-Bissau’s foreign minister, and the bloc’s special envoy.
The intervention comes amid heightened tensions in Bissau, where military officers announced on Wednesday that they had taken “total control” of government operations.
The takeover occurred just a day before the expected release of election results, throwing the country into uncertainty.
Air travel was temporarily halted, leaving several international election observers stranded.
Among those affected were former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and former Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, who were in Guinea-Bissau for election monitoring. Jonathan has since returned to Nigeria.
ECOWAS commended the resilience of Guinea-Bissau’s citizens but expressed concern about the growing pattern of military interference in political transitions across the region.
The bloc also called for safe passage for its officials and international partners operating in the country.
Guinea-Bissau’s political landscape has been marked by frequent instability, and the latest coup deepens regional worries over the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government in West Africa.
The suspension will remain in effect until democratic governance is fully restored.
