ECOWAS Suspends Guinea-Bissau Following Military Coup, Demands Immediate Restoration of Constitutional Rule

West African leaders have suspended Guinea-Bissau from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies after a military coup on November 26, calling for the immediate return of constitutional governance and warning that the takeover threatens the country’s fragile democracy.

The Extraordinary Session of ECOWAS’ Mediation and Security Council (MSC) convened virtually on Thursday night under the chairmanship of Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio. The meeting included leaders from Cabo Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire’s vice president, and senior ministers from Benin, The Gambia, and Togo.

Also in attendance were heads of the ECOWAS Commission, the African Union Commission, the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Guinea-Bissau’s foreign minister, and ECOWAS’s special envoy.

The MSC reviewed a report from ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray on the crisis. Leaders expressed concern over the disruption of the electoral process while praising citizens for their “resilience and commitment to democracy” during the polls.

The council stated it “condemns in the strongest terms the coup d’état perpetrated on 26 November 2025 and calls for the unconditional restoration of constitutional order without delay.” It also rejected “any arrangements that perpetuate the illegal abortion of the democratic process and the subversion of the will of the people of Guinea-Bissau.”

ECOWAS demanded that coup organisers allow the National Electoral Commission to continue its work, insisting they must “respect the will of the people and allow the National Electoral Commission to proceed without delay with the declaration of the results of the elections of 23 November 2025.”

The bloc further called for the “immediate and unconditional release of all detained officials, in particular President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, as well as the electoral officials and all other political figures.”

Coup leaders were warned they would be held “both individually and collectively responsible for the protection of life and property of all citizens and residents of Guinea-Bissau and for the security and safety of all detainees.” The MSC also requested that they guarantee safe passage for ECOWAS and international election observers.

According to the council, “The MSC decides, in accordance with the provisions of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance 2001 (A/SP/12/01), to suspend Guinea-Bissau from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies until the restoration of full and effective constitutional order in the country.”

A high-level mediation team, led by the ECOWAS chair and including the presidents of Togo, Cabo Verde, and Senegal, is set to travel to Bissau to engage the coup leaders with the aim of restoring constitutional rule.

The communiqué urged Guinea-Bissau’s armed forces “to return to barracks and to maintain their constitutional role” and asked the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission to continue protecting state institutions. ECOWAS also reserved the right to invoke all options under its protocols, including sanctions, against those who disrupted the democratic process.

The African Union condemned the coup and demanded Embalo’s immediate release, while the European Union called for “a swift return to the constitutional order and the resumption of the electoral process.”

Guinea-Bissau descended into chaos on Wednesday when soldiers detained President Embalo and blocked the release of provisional election results. Senegal’s government later confirmed that Embalo was flown safely back to the country on Thursday.

The coup occurred amid a tight race between Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa, who claimed he had won and alleged the takeover was “organised by Mr Embalo.” Embalo denied any wrongdoing.

Following the coup, the military appointed General Horta N’Tam, the army chief of staff, to lead a one-year transition. “I have just been sworn in to lead the High Command,” N’Tam said after taking the oath.

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