On the Grave political situation in Guinea-Bissau after the coup of 26 November

B100575/2025

European Parliament resolution on the Grave political situation in Guinea-Bissau after the coup of 26 November

(2025/3027(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rule 150(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas on 23 November 2025, Guinea-Bissau held general elections, and the incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa each claimed victory;

whereas Dias had been backed by former Prime Minister Domingos Pereira, who was initially supposed to run on behalf of the main opposition party, PAIGC, but had been disqualified;

whereas on 26 November, the day before the election results were supposed to have been released, a group of military seized power by force, detained President Embaló and illegally suspended the electoral process;

whereas many government officers, magistrates, and opposition leaders have also been arbitrarily detained, including Pereira;

whereas on 27 November, a former army chief of staff General Horta Inta-a was sworn in as head of the country and appointed a 28-member government, most of which are allies of the ousted president, for a one-year transition period;

whereas Embaló fled to Senegal and later to Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, and Nigeria granted protection for da Costa, allegedly in response to an imminent threat to his life;

whereas the opposition has accused Embaló and his supporters in the military of staging the coup to avoid a possible defeat;

whereas on 10 December the junta adopted a Transitional Charter establishing an interim administration, barring interim leaders from contesting elections and creating a National Transition Council to replace the dissolved National Assembly, in further usurpation of civilian authority;

whereas on 9 December, the electoral commission communicated it is unable to finalise the electoral results, claiming that on 26 November armed men broke into its office, stole ballots and vote tellies, and destroyed servers storing the results;

Strongly condemns the military coup and calls for a swift return to constitutional order which respects the rule of law, the integrity of democratically elected institutions and human rights;

Recalls that any transfer of power must take place on the basis of free and fair elections; urges the authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure the peaceful conclusion of the ongoing electoral process and the legitimate outcome, reflecting the will of the people, to be published as soon as possible;

Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Domingo Simões Pereira and all persons detained in the context of the current political crisis, ensuring their physical integrity and full access to legal defence and medical care;

Calls on all actors to refrain from any acts of violence, whether institutional or civic in nature;

Calls for all stakeholders to engage in inclusive and meaningful dialogue to find a peaceful outcome that delivers the best results for the people of Guinea-Bissau;

Is alarmed by deep infiltration of drug trafficking money into the political and military institution of Guinea-Bissau;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the ECOWAS Commission, the African Union, and the authorities of Guinea-Bissau.