Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo has threatened to expel a political mission sent by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional bloc said on Sunday, as tensions mount over the timing of the country’s next election.
The dispute centers on the end of Embalo’s presidential term, which began in 2020. Opposition groups argue that his mandate expired last week, while the Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that it extends until September 4. The uncertainty has raised fears of unrest in the politically fragile nation, which has a history of military coups.
Embalo, who previously chaired ECOWAS from 2022 to 2023, announced on February 23 that presidential and legislative elections would be postponed until November 30. In response, ECOWAS, alongside the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), dispatched a mission from February 21 to 28 to mediate a path forward.
However, the bloc said in a statement that the delegation left Bissau on March 1 “following threats by H.E. Umaro Sissoco Embalo to expel it.”
The development comes days after Embalo’s visit to Moscow, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin. Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 1974.
