ECOWAS Suspends Guinea-Bissau After Military Coup, Demands Immediate Return to Constitutional Order

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies following Wednesday’s military coup that removed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló from power.

The suspension was announced after an Extraordinary Virtual Summit of Heads of State and Government convened to assess the escalating political crisis. The meeting was chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, who currently serves as ECOWAS chairperson.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the bloc’s Mediation and Security Council (MSC) expressed strong concern over the takeover and urged Guinea-Bissau’s armed forces to withdraw to their barracks and respect their constitutional obligations.

“The MSC decides, in accordance with the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, to suspend Guinea-Bissau from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies until full and effective constitutional order is restored,” the statement said.

ECOWAS leaders condemned the coup as an “unacceptable violation” of democratic norms and warned that they would not accept any arrangement that sustains what they described as the “illegal abortion of the democratic process”.

The bloc demanded that coup leaders allow the National Electoral Commission to immediately announce the results of the November 23 presidential and legislative elections, which were disrupted by the takeover. It also called for the unconditional release of all detained officials, including Embaló, election authorities and other political figures.

Embaló has since fled to neighbouring Senegal.

ECOWAS said it would dispatch a mediation mission to Bissau to engage the coup leaders and push for the swift restoration of constitutional rule. The bloc also warned that it reserves the right to impose targeted sanctions on individuals or groups found responsible for undermining Guinea-Bissau’s democratic process.