Major-General Horta Inta-a read a decree read on Wednesday that read, “All the requirements have been met for organising free, fair, and transparent elections.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
On December 6, the statement added, there will be legislative and presidential elections.
Embalo was removed as head of the military administration in a November coup, and Inta-a, a former army chief of staff, was given the task of overseeing a one-year transition period.
Inta-a, a close Embalo associate, is prohibited from running for office by a transitional charter that was published in the first few days of December.
The military claimed to have taken control as Embalo sought a second term in a presidential election to “avoid a bloodbath between the rival candidates’ supporters.”
Guinea-Bissau, one of the poorest nations in the world, has been plagued by coups and attempted coups since gaining its independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago, including an attempted coup last October.
The nation, which has 2.2 million people, is known as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a practice that, according to experts, has contributed to its political unrest.
An Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission led by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio and his Senegalese counterpart Bassirou Diomaye Faye traveled to Guinea-Bissau several weeks after making the announcement.
The two leaders have urged a quick, organized, and transparent transition following discussions with the military leaders.
Additionally, they have demanded the release of political rivals, including opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, who were detained the day of the coup.
Since 2020, there have been numerous coups in West Africa, typically with the intention of preventing insurgency or fixing bad governance.
