Guinea-Bissau must restore institutional legitimacy for credible elections

The briefing examines the institutional fragility of Guinea-Bissau ahead of legislative elections scheduled for 24 November. It highlights the illegitimacy of the National Elections Commission (CNE) and the dysfunction of the Supreme Court, both of which are unable to fulfill their electoral mandates. The author suggests that President Umaro Sissoco Embaló should seek consensus with political players and that ECOWAS should intervene to potentially postpone and combine legislative and presidential elections to restore institutional normalcy.

• The National Elections Commission (CNE) is currently deemed illegitimate because the mandates for its president and executive secretariat members expired in April 2022 and have not been renewed.
• The Supreme Court is dysfunctional and unable to validate candidates or declare election results because it lacks the required quorum of seven judges; six of the 12 judges are currently suspended due to disciplinary proceedings.
• President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has dissolved the National People’s Assembly (ANP) twice, most recently in December, following a period where the PAIGC-led Inclusive Alliance Platform (PAI)-Terra Ranka coalition held an absolute majority of 54 of 102 seats.
• To prevent a political crisis and address institutional failures, the document recommends that ECOWAS intervene to help stakeholders agree on postponing and potentially combining the legislative and presidential elections.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Guinea-Bissau must restore institutional legitimacy for credible elections. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/guinea-bissau-must-restore-institutional-legitimacy-for-credible-elections

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Guinea-Bissau must restore institutional legitimacy for credible elections. n.d. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/guinea-bissau-must-restore-institutional-legitimacy-for-credible-elections.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Guinea-Bissau must restore institutional legitimacy for credible elections |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/guinea-bissau-must-restore-institutional-legitimacy-for-credible-elections |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndguineabissau, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Guinea-Bissau must restore institutional legitimacy for credible elections}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/guinea-bissau-must-restore-institutional-legitimacy-for-credible-elections}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }