Guinea-Bissau: Platforms contest the referendum and denounce the silence of ECOWAS

Political tensions remain high in Guinea-Bissau. In a joint statement dated Wednesday, July 22, 2026, the Inclusive Alliance Platform – Terra Ranka (PAI-TR) and the Inclusive Patriotic Alliance Cabas Garandi (API-CG) categorically reject any constitutional revision or referendum imposed by the transitional authorities. They maintain that "there can be no credible transition without legitimacy," nor free elections as long as the main political actors remain detained or excluded from national life.

Signed by António Samba Baldé and Jorge Fernandes, the declaration accuses ECOWAS of having validated the coup in Guinea-Bissau. The platforms denounce a "constitutional order fabricated behind closed doors," arguing that the final communiqué of the 69th summit in Sierra Leone contradicts the commitments made at the 68th summit in December 2025, which advocated for a brief and inclusive civilian transition.

The coalitions point out that the political situation and fundamental rights have not improved since December 2025: arbitrary detentions, closures of party offices, and restrictions on civil liberties continue. The detention of Domingos Simões Pereira by a military court, they argue, illustrates the authorities' refusal to respect regional decisions. His release, along with that of all political prisoners, is presented as a political, legal, and moral obligation, not as a gesture of goodwill.

The PAI-TR and API-CG demand concrete and verifiable measures from ECOWAS, accompanied by individual and financial sanctions in case of non-compliance. They call for a truly impartial, transparent, and inclusive international mediation, geared towards defending popular sovereignty and not legitimizing the transitional regime.

Their list of demands is unequivocal: recognition of the collapse of the constitutional order, immediate release of Domingos Simões Pereira and political prisoners, opening of an inclusive national dialogue, organization of referendums or elections only in a climate of freedom and security, and the sending of an independent international mission to assess the human rights situation.