Ambassador Baba Kamara, Head of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Guinea-Bissau, has decided to stay put until all 135 Medium- and Short-Term observers have returned to their various destinations following the military takeover of government in the country.
“I had the opportunity to leave with former President (Goodluck) Jonathan of Nigeria and his delegation in the limited seats on his special flight, but I cannot leave any observer behind in Guinea-Bissau,” Ambassador Kamara, Ghana’s former High Commissioner to Nigeria and ECOWAS,” told the ECOWAS observers on Thursday, 27 November, as the ECOWAS Technical support team led by Ambassador Abdel-fatua Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, finalized arrangements for the observers’ return flights.
The observers, deployed to various Guinea-Bissau districts, had assembled in Bissau, the nation’s capital to witness the announcement of the provisional results of the 23 November legislative and presidential elections by the National Electoral, CNE, on Wednesday, 26 November, the day the military announced the coup, with President Umaro Sissoco Embalo reportedly toppled and detained.
The military group ordered a night curfew, suspended the electoral process, and closed the airport and other borders.
On Friday, after Gen. Horta Inta-A, head of the Presidential Guard and reported Embalo ally, was sworn in as Guinea-Bissau’s Transitional President for one year, the military rulers announced the re-opening of the Bissau airport to designated airlines, including Royal Air Maroc, Asky, the Portuguese Airline, TAP, Euroatlantic Airways, and Air Côte d’Ivoire.
The Observers are now to leave Bissau in an ECOWAS chartered flight.
Ambassador Kamara and Commissioner Musah, expressed the ECOWAS Commission’s gratitude to the observers for their dedication and sacrifices for the Community.
He assured them that all necessary arrangements would be made for their safety and well-being until the end of their observation mission.
Before and after the elections, Ambassador Kamara, his African Union counterpart, Mozambique’s former President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi and Dr Jonathan, the Founder and Convener of the West African Elders’ Forum, held consultations with major stakeholders, including the two front-runners in the presidential race, Embalo and independent candidate Fernando Dias, who both assured the observers that they would respect the outcome of the elections.
The two candidates claimed victory in the presidential race before the military coup.
Under Guinea-Bissau’s constitution, the CNE has between seven and ten days to declare the final results of an election. A candidate requires 50%+1 vote to win; otherwise, the two front-runners will square up in a run-off election after three weeks of the first round of balloting to decide the winner.
ECOWAS has a peace Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ESSMGB), and the Kamara-led EOM, had in its Preliminary Declaration described the conduct of the elections as “peaceful, orderly and professional… despite few initial organisational and set-up deficiencies observed.”
The Declaration would be followed by a more comprehensive Final Report with recommendations for improvement of future elections.##
