Decision comes after the coup d’état in the country
The Foreign Affairs ministers of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) recommended this Friday to heads of state that Guinea-Bissau be temporarily suspended from the organization, following the coup d’état in the country.
“The Council of Ministers recommends the temporary suspension of Guinea-Bissau, to be decided at the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP, and the transfer of the pro tempore presidency of the organization to another Member State”, reads the statement sent at the end of the online meeting that brought together the heads of diplomacy from the Portuguese-speaking countries, and in which the political and institutional situation in Guinea-Bissau was analyzed “with deep concern, following the coup d’état that took place on November 26, 2025”.
The heads of diplomacy of the Portuguese-speaking countries also decided to “set up a High Level Good Offices Mission that will be sent to Guinea-Bissau in the shortest possible time”.
In the document, they stated that they “strongly condemn the interruption of the ongoing electoral process, considering that this constitutes a serious violation of democratic principles and the sovereign will of the Guinean people” and consider that there was an “institutional rupture” that compromises political stability and constitutional order.
The heads of diplomacy from the seven Portuguese-speaking countries who participated in today’s meeting demand the “immediate and unconditional release” of all detainees and the “urgent resumption of constitutional order”.
This 17th extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers, made up of Foreign Affairs ministers, reaffirmed the CPLP’s commitment “to the values of democracy, legality and solidarity between its Member States” and expressed “availability to support, in a concerted manner, all efforts that lead to the re-establishment of institutional normality in Guinea-Bissau”.
The Military High Command took power on November 26, three days after the general, presidential and legislative elections, and one day before the announced date for the release of the electoral results.
These were the first elections in the country, without the historic liberation party, the PAIGC, excluded by the court, and which decided to support the independent candidate Fernando Dias, who claimed victory in the first round over the President, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who ran for a second term.
The President was deposed, the electoral process suspended and the coup and state condemned internationally with Guinea-Bissau suspended from the main regional organizations, namely ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and the African Union (AU).
The opposition has claimed that the coup d’état was an alleged act by President Embaló because he was defeated in the elections.
