In the last few days of February, a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had been in Guinea Bissau to engage with stakeholders in order to support them in the setting up of elections. The term of the current president Umaru SIssoco Embalo has expired but there seems to be reticence in holding elections.
However, these delegates from Ecowas had to leave as the president threatened to send them out of the country. They left, it seems, before their Mission was accomplished. They had earlier met with government officials, opposition figures, electoral officers, civil society actors and were working towards agreements on elections.
There are concerns that if things continue this way and free and fair elections not held, this will increase the chances of instability in that country. Guinea Bissau is one of the most volatile countries in the sub-region with frequent coups from the military. There were hopes when the current president came to power that things may begin to change and that military takeovers were a thing of the past.
With the challenges the Ecowas leadership faced in Burkin Faso, Guinea Conakry and Mali, they would have hoped to have a success story in Guinea Bissau. They must have expected some challenges of course, but not to a level where the president would threaten to expel them.
It is not clear what the intentions of President Embalo are but he should be made to remember that clinging on to power is one way of fermenting unrest in Africa. At a time when so much progress is needed, and so little made, every leader should work harder to do better.
There are of course those observers who view the Ecowas as a toothless bulldog saying that they can’t do anything meaningful in these countries. They will be observing keenly to see if they can do anything at all.
