The ruling military junta in Guinea‑Bissau has decreed that its leading general will not be eligible to contest upcoming elections, following the November 26 coup that removed President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.
The move, detailed in a newly published “charter of the transition,” seeks to prevent key junta figures from benefiting politically after power is handed back to civilians.
After suspending elections and assuming control for one year, the junta formalised rules in a charter issued late Monday. It stipulates that both the interim president, General Horta N’Tam, and the junta’s prime minister will be barred from standing as candidates in the presidential and legislative elections at the end of the transition.
The document further prohibits them from heading any political party.
In addition to the candidacy ban, the charter provides for an amnesty covering “acts of subversion of the constitutional order” committed before or during the coup.
The amnesty law is expected to be adopted by a legislative body appointed by the junta, raising concerns among observers that accountability may be sacrificed for transitional convenience.
The reasons cited by the junta for seizing power remain murky. Initially, they warned of destabilisation threats from powerful drug‑trafficking networks operating in the country. Last week, they added that the risk of an ethnic civil war justified their intervention.
Critics, however, suspect the coup was orchestrated by Embalo himself, who allegedly sought to manipulate the election outcome by installing an ally, Horta N’Tam, as interim president to prolong his stay in power.
“There is room for doubt about the length of the transitional period because, when it comes to the military, caution is needed when interpreting their statements,” Paulino Quade, a lawyer and professor at the Amilcar Cabral University law school, told AFP on Tuesday.
Guinea‑Bissau has a long, troubled history. The country has endured four successful military takeovers and numerous attempted insurrections since its independence from Portugal in 1974.
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