Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is among several African leaders and top election observers stranded in Guinea-Bissau following a military takeover on Wednesday.
Jonathan was part of a 36-member delegation on a joint observer mission led by the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and the West African Elders Forum (WAEF), deployed to monitor the country’s presidential election held on Sunday.
The coup came after both President Umaro Embaló, seeking re-election, and his main challenger, Fernando Dias, declared victory, despite the electoral commission yet to release official results.
Following the military intervention, airports were closed, borders blocked, and civil movement suspended, effectively trapping the observer team along with several high-ranking officials.
In a statement, the AU-ECOWAS-WAEF mission expressed serious concern, calling the disruption “regrettable” and emphasizing that it occurred while observers were still engaged in confidence-building meetings with the candidates, who had expressed willingness to respect the democratic process.
“It’s regrettable that this announcement came at a time when the missions had just concluded meeting with the two leading presidential candidates, who assured us of their willingness to accept the will of the people,” the statement said.
The observers demanded immediate action from the AU and ECOWAS to restore constitutional order and ensure the release of detained public officials.
Before the coup, the mission had been scheduled to leave Guinea-Bissau on November 29, but the military takeover has thrown the exit plans into uncertainty.