Guinea-Bissau: President Jose Mario Vaz names new PM

Guinea-Bissau’s President Jose Mario Vaz on Monday appointed Aristides Gomes as Prime Minister, a decree read on state-run media said.

The move comes days after the summit of ECOWAS leaders in Togo during which Vaz agreed to honor a 2016 deal brokered by the regional body to end a prolonged political crisis in the West African nation.

Talks mediated by Guinean President Alpha Conde and Togolese counterpart Faure Gnassingbe in October 2016 had called for naming a new Prime Minister and forming a unity government.

Under the ECOWAS deal, Vaz was to name a Prime Minister in consensus with the rival faction.

The crisis erupted when President Jose Mario Vaz sacked then Prime Minister Domingo Simoes Pereira.

In February ECOWAS slapped 20 Guinea-Bissau politicians and businessmen with sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, accusing them of undermining efforts to resolve a prolonged political crisis.

Veteran politician Aristides Gomes – a member of the PAIGC’s central committee who served as prime minister from 2005 to 2007 – was chosen by representatives of the party during the summit in Togo, the president said.

About Geraldine Boechat 2900 Articles
Senior Editor for Medafrica Times and former journalist for Swiss National Television. former NGO team leader in Burundi and Somalia