In a defining move following last month’s coup, Guinea-Bissau’s military junta has established a 12-month transitional charter. This new framework explicitly prohibits the appointed interim president and prime minister from competing in the eventual elections, aiming to position the military as a neutral arbiter. The 29-article document mandates presidential and legislative polls at the end of the transition, with the date to be set by interim leader Major-General Horta Inta-a. The Military High Command, which seized power on November 26, will oversee sweeping legal and institutional reforms, including rewriting the suspended constitution and reshaping electoral bodies. A 65-member National Transition Council will serve as the temporary legislature. The move adds to Guinea-Bissau’s long history of political turbulence and mirrors similar post-coup transitions elsewhere in the region.
Reuters
