The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, has decided to advance the date of presidential and legislative elections to 23 November 2025. Initially scheduled for 30 November, this announcement comes as a joint mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) has been expelled from Guinea-Bissau. This meeting was marked by the absence of two major parties: the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) and the Assembly of the United People the Democratic Party of Guinea-Bissau (APU-PDGB). “We are a sovereign country and we will take our decisions without external interference”, said Umaro Sissoco Embaló. According to a communiqué de la CEDEAO relayed by nos confrères de Sud Quotidien, a diplomatic mission came to Bissau to discuss the political situation and the electoral calendar and had to leave the country on the orders of the head of state. Domingos Simões Pereira (DSP), a prominent political figure, affirmed that the mandate of Umaro Sissoco Embaló expired on 27 February 2025 and that since then, legally, the power should be devolved to the President of the National Assembly, whose dissolution by Embaló in December 2023 has contributed to the current confusion. This situation is reported in detail by Sud Quotidien. Despite a troubled political climate, Umaro Sissoco Embaló has finally declared his intention to run for re-election, after initially renouncing a new mandate, thus contributing to the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming transition in Guinea-Bissau.
Guinea-Bissau: Umaro Sissoco Embaló has called for presidential elections on 23 November 2025
