Guinea-Bissau’s National Electoral Commission has said conditions have not been met for the legislative and presidential elections planned for December.
The commission communicated its position to military leader and transitional president General Horta N’Tam, according to its vice-president, Felisberta Moura Vaz.
Vaz told journalists that she could not say whether the elections would be postponed. Any decision on that question, she said, was a matter for the transitional president
.
No new election date or formal postponement has been announced, and the specific conditions considered unmet by the commission were not stated.
Parties not ready
Prime Minister Ilidio Vieira Te said no political party was yet in an ideal position to contest the elections
. He also said that most party leadership was outdated.
The planned vote was intended to restore civilian rule after a coup in November of the previous year. Following that takeover, military leaders adopted a transitional charter lasting one year.
The coup occurred one day before provisional election results were due to be announced. Many observers suspected former President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of orchestrating the takeover to stop an electoral process he appeared to be losing. That suspicion has been attributed to the observers and has not been independently established.
Continued political uncertainty
Embalo was barred from returning to Guinea-Bissau the previous week. The country’s new leaders had appeared to distance themselves from the former president in recent weeks.
Several members of the presidential guard were later disarmed and placed under supervision at military headquarters. The guard has been described as a unit seen as loyal to Embalo.
Guinea-Bissau, located between Senegal and Guinea, has experienced five coups and numerous attempted putsches since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.
The commission’s statement adds to uncertainty over the timing of the country’s return to elected civilian government. For now, the December polls remain planned, but it is unclear whether they will proceed as scheduled.
No Comment! Be the first one.