The African Union (AU) on Friday suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies following the military takeover that toppled President Umaro Sissoco Embalo earlier this week.
The move comes two days after soldiers announced they had removed the president from power, halting the expected release of election results in the politically fragile West African nation.
AU Commission chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf confirmed the suspension, saying the organisation was responding to an “unacceptable breach of constitutional order”. The junta has appointed former army chief of staff General Horta N’Tam as transitional president for a one-year period.
Embalo, who was initially detained by the military, fled to Senegal on Thursday. Meanwhile, opposition candidate Fernando Dias, who claims to have won the disputed election, told AFP he is “safe” but in hiding inside the country.
The coup has drawn widespread international condemnation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced it as an “unacceptable violation of democratic principles”, while the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also suspended Guinea-Bissau from its governing bodies and demanded a return to constitutional rule.
Guinea-Bissau, nestled between Senegal and Guinea, has a long history of political instability and has seen four successful coups since independence from Portugal in 1974. Contested elections, weak state institutions and entrenched military influence have repeatedly undermined democratic governance.
The country is also a major transit hub for cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Europe, a criminal economy sustained by decades of political turmoil.
Guinea-Bissau now joins Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Sudan and, more recently, Madagascar on the AU’s growing list of member states suspended over unconstitutional changes of government.
However, the AU has lifted sanctions on some nations, including Gabon earlier this year after progress toward political transition.
Regional blocs and international partners are expected to intensify diplomatic pressure in the coming days, urging the junta to restore civilian rule and stabilise one of Africa’s most volatile states.
Source: AFP
Written By Rodney Mbua
