The military authorities who seized power in Guinea Bissau in November said they will include the main opposition PAIGC party in a new transitional government and have released its leader, former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, though he remains under house arrest.
The announcement appears aimed at easing pressure from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, which suspended Guinea Bissau following the coup and demanded a swift return to civilian rule.
Army officers calling themselves the Military High Command overthrew President Umaro Sissoco Embalo on November 26 and installed Major General Horta Inta a as interim president the following day. The takeover marked the ninth military coup in West and Central Africa in the past five years and brought a halt to ongoing presidential and legislative elections.
In a letter addressed to ECOWAS and shared with journalists over the weekend, Inta a said the junta plans to form what he described as an inclusive transitional government. Under the proposal, three ministerial positions would be allocated to the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, known as PAIGC.
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He said another three portfolios would go to the Party for Social Renewal, led by Fernando Dias, who had emerged as President Embalo’s strongest rival in the disrupted November election. Inta a also pledged that all political detainees would be freed.
The junta confirmed on Friday that Pereira, who had been detained since the coup, was released but placed under house arrest on suspicion of economic crimes. No formal charges have been announced.
Sources close to the military authorities told Reuters that Dias had left the Nigerian embassy in Bissau, where he had sought refuge after the takeover, and was no longer facing arrest. Neither Pereira nor Dias could be reached for comment.
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In the immediate aftermath of the coup, ECOWAS urged the military to restore constitutional order and allow the electoral process to continue. However, Guinea Bissau’s electoral commission later said it was unable to complete the vote after armed men seized ballot materials and destroyed servers containing election results.
Last month, a presidential decree scheduled new presidential and legislative elections for December 6. It remains unclear whether the timetable will hold as talks continue between the junta and regional leaders over the transition programme.
