According to Reuters on the 28th, Senegal's Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said that the coup that occurred this week in the neighboring country of Guinea-Bissau was a fraud and called for allowing the country's disrupted elections to continue. This further intensified the anger in the region over the coup in Guinea-Bissau.
However, despite the criticism, the military government of Guinea-Bissau seems to be taking measures to consolidate power, and on the same day announced the appointment of Ilidio Vieira Te as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. Previously, the army of Guinea-Bissau overthrew the civilian government before the results of the presidential and legislative elections were announced, and General Artur da Costa e Silva took the oath as transitional president. Da Costa e Silva also stated that the coup was aimed at preventing "drug traffickers from seizing the democracy of Guinea-Bissau."
Regarding the situation in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal's Prime Minister Sonko said when answering questions from legislators: "The election in Guinea-Bissau is a fraud. We hope the election process continues. The electoral commission must be able to declare the winner."
The African Union's Peace and Security Council also held an emergency meeting on the 28th and condemned the coup as unconstitutional. A statement said that the council suspended Guinea-Bissau's participation in AU activities "until its constitutional order is restored."
Previously, the presidential campaign in Guinea-Bissau was between the president who was later removed by the military, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, and the opposition leader Fernando Dias. The current transitional president, da Costa e Silva, has long been a close ally of Embaló. Therefore, the opposition alliance supporting Dias accused the coup as being orchestrated by Embaló and his supporters to prevent the announcement of the election results, as Embaló had actually lost the election.
But strangely, after being removed from office, Embaló had already fled to Senegal by private jet and did not remain in Guinea-Bissau. However, the current military government of Guinea-Bissau is led by longtime allies of Embaló. In addition to da Costa e Silva, Thomas Jasi, appointed as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces on the 27th, is also closely related to Embaló. Therefore, the truth of the matter may still require further observation from the outside world.
This article is an exclusive report by the Observer, and it is not allowed to be reprinted without permission.
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