ECOWAS will deploy a high-level delegation to Guinea-Bissau on Monday, 1 December, as regional leaders intensify diplomatic efforts following the military takeover that unseated President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
The mission, led by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio and joined by counterparts from Senegal, Cape Verde and Togo—or their representatives—aims to engage the newly installed authorities alongside key political and civil society actors in pursuit of a swift return to constitutional governance.
Regional officials signal that the bloc’s posture will be uncompromising, amid widespread condemnation of what many describe as a carefully orchestrated handover from the former President to a trusted general.
While the possibility of military intervention has not been openly endorsed, ECOWAS is expected to reject the junta’s announcement of a one-year transition and push for the publication of the contested election results.
With tensions easing after recent attacks on political party offices, opposition figures—including Fernando Dias’s camp—are counting on ECOWAS to secure transparency and civilian leadership. As a newly appointed cabinet dominated by military officers deepens public mistrust, expectations across Bissau are high that the visiting delegation will enforce accountability, apply necessary pressure, and steer the nation back onto a democratic trajectory.