The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Guinea-Bissau’s membership in the regional bloc, hours after an army general was sworn in as the country’s president in an apparent military takeover.
The decision was reached during a virtual emergency session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC) on Thursday night. The meeting was chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio and included leaders from Cabo Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Benin, among other member states.
In a strong condemnation of the day’s events, the council denounced the army’s actions as “an illegal abortion of the democratic process seeking to subvert popular will.” The coup unfolded while the nation was in the midst of counting votes from a high-stakes presidential election, throwing the country’s democratic transition into chaos.
The swift suspension by ECOWAS underscores the bloc’s growing concern over the erosion of democratic norms in West Africa. The region has been rattled by a wave of military takeovers, with at least six successful coups reported since 2020.
The seizure of power in Guinea-Bissau represents the latest challenge to stability in the region, prompting immediate diplomatic action from its neighbors to isolate the new military leadership.