The Espace de Concertation des Organisations de la Société Civile (EDC) and the Front Populaire have published, on 24 November 2025, a joint communiqué in which they express “extreme indignation” at what they describe as serious manipulations within the Regional Electoral Commissions (CRE) in Guinea-Bissau. According to the two organisations, these practices are aimed at falsifying the results of the ballot box on 23 November and at ” usurping the sovereign will of the people “. They affirm that the electoral law guarantees the representatives of the candidates the obligation to be present at all stages of the process, and consider any attempt to prevent this presence as “an attack against democracy”. The communiqué notably concerned the defeated candidate Umaro Sissoco Embaló, accused of having launched “an operation of fraud” aimed at expelling representatives of the candidate Dr Fernando Dias, presented by the signatories as the winner according to the results published in several polling stations. The organizations also denounce a “militarisation” of the process through the deployment of security forces in the CRE, which, according to them, is intended to intimidate the representatives. Faced with this situation, the EDC and the Front Populaire formulated several demands: the condemnation of “criminal acts” aimed at hindering the electoral choice of the people; The National Electoral Commission (CNE) is responsible for ensuring a transparent counting of votes in the presence of all representatives.
Guinea-Bissau: tensions around the results, civil society is rising
