ECOWAS SUSPENDS GUINEA-BISSAU AFTER MILITARY COUP
Abuja, Nigeria — November 28, 2025
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Guinea-Bissau from all its decision-making bodies with immediate effect following a military coup that ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embaló on Tuesday, November 26.
The suspension was announced in a strongly worded communiqué issued after an emergency virtual summit of ECOWAS Heads of State late Thursday. The leaders condemned the coup “in the strongest terms” and demanded the unconditional restoration of constitutional order in the country.
According to the communiqué, ECOWAS praised the resilience of the people of Guinea-Bissau during the electoral process, noting their commitment to democracy. However, it expressed deep alarm at the military’s disruption of the 23 November elections and the forceful interruption of the democratic process.
The bloc rejected any arrangement aimed at legitimising what it described as “the illegal abortion of the democratic process” and the “subversion of the will of the people.” It further demanded that the coup leaders allow the National Electoral Commission to announce the results of the November 23 polls without delay.
ECOWAS also ordered the immediate and unconditional release of President Embaló, detained electoral officials, and all other political figures currently held by the military. The leaders warned the coup organisers that they would be held “individually and collectively responsible” for any harm caused to detainees and called for safe passage for ECOWAS and international election observers.
The extraordinary session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council was chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio. It was attended by the presidents of Cabo Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone; the Vice-President of Côte d’Ivoire; and senior ministers from Benin, Gambia, and Togo.
Also present were the presidents of the ECOWAS and African Union Commissions, the head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Guinea-Bissau’s Foreign Minister, and the ECOWAS special envoy to the country.
ECOWAS has pledged to continue monitoring the situation closely and to work with international partners to ensure a swift return to constitutional governance in Guinea-Bissau.
