ECOWAS sends mediation mission to Bissau aiming restore constitutional order

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has decided to send a “high-level mediation mission to Guinea-Bissau to communicate with the coup leaders with the aim of ensuring the full restoration of constitutional order”.

The committee, which is expected to travel to Bissau soon, consists of the presidents of Togo for Nyasingbe, Cape Verde José María Pereira Neves and Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, as well as Gambian ECOWAS Commission chief Omar Touray.

In a statement issued after a virtual meeting of its Mediation and Security Council, chaired by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, the organization said it had suspended Guinea-Bissau’s membership in all decision-making bodies in the organization, following the military coup that ousted President Amr Sissoko Embalo last Wednesday.

The Council expressed deep concern over the developments in the situation that occurred following the active participation of citizens (Pesau Guineans) in the presidential and legislative elections held on November 23, 2025, and condemned in the strongest terms the military coup, calling for the immediate and unconditional restoration of constitutional order, rejecting any arrangement that would impede the democratic process.

ECOWAS called for respecting the will of the people and allowing the National Election Commission to publish the results of the polls without delay, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees, and holding the coup leaders responsible for protecting the lives and property of all citizens and residents and the safety of detainees, stressing facilitating the evacuation and protection of international election observers.

The West African Organization urged Guinea’s Bissau Armed Forces to return to its barracks and respect its constitutional role, noting that it will remain vigilant about developments in the situation and reserves the right to apply all options stipulated in the 2001 and 2012 ECAS Protocols, including the imposition of sanctions on any entity deemed responsible for disrupting the electoral and democratic process in Guinea-Bissau.

ECOWAS’s decisions follow the Senegalese Foreign Ministry’s announcement of the arrival of ousted President Amr Sissoko Embalo in the country, following its mediation with the coup plotters in Bissau, as well as the inauguration of the commander of the ground forces, General Horta Enta on Thursday, as interim head for a year, and General Thomas Djasi as chief of staff of the army.

The night curfew was lifted, borders were reopened, and schools, markets and private institutions were ordered to reopen, a sign of the stabilization of the situation after the military coup.

Opposition leader Fernando Dias of Guinea on Thursday reiterated his victory in the presidential election, accusing Sissoko of “orchestrating the coup” to prevent him from coming to power.

The military seized power in Guinea-Bissau a day before the results of the presidential and legislative elections were announced, the fifth coup in the country’s history since independence from Portugal in 1974.