The two main opposition party platforms in Guinea-Bissau, PAI-Terra Ranka and API-Cabas Garandi, called on the international community not to legitimize the constitutional referendum held on Sunday, classifying it as "fraud" and "blatant falsification" conducted by the National Election Commission under the control of the military in power. In the joint statement, the platforms demand a "firm position" from ECOWAS, African Union, CPLP, and the UN, asking them to refuse any validation of a process they consider "plagued by deep illegalities."
The opposition requests the urgent sending of an independent evaluation mission regarding the data presented by the CNE, allegedly without the presence of opposition political parties, with discrepancies in the numbers of voters and registered voters and with the exclusion of Guinean citizens in the diaspora.
The African Union mediator for the crisis in Guinea-Bissau, Patrice Trovoada, is in Bissau for contacts with the civilian and military authorities conducting the political transition. After being received by the transitional President, General Horta Inta-a, Trovoada declared that the process should evolve in compliance with the commitments made, highlighting the importance of the new constitution approved in the referendum and pointing to the upcoming presidential elections as the next step.
Guinea-Bissau's military staged a coup on November 26, 2025, one day before the publication of the results of legislative and presidential elections, removing the then-elected President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and advancing with a new constitution that reinforces the powers of the head of state. The opposition considered it a staged coup to allow Sissoco Embaló's return to power through new elections scheduled for December 6.
