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President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, in his capacity as chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, held direct talks with Guinea-Bissau’s military leadership on Monday (1 December 2024) in a bid to restore constitutional order.
The high-level mission to Bissau, which included the president of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Leonardo Santos Simão, followed a specific mandate from an extraordinary session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council.
The regional bloc instructed its chair to lead the mission to”engage with the leaders of the coup to ensure the full restoration of constitutional order.” President Bio met with the military leadership headed by Major-General Horta Inta-a.
While details of the closed-door discussions were not immediately released, a statement from Bio’s office described the engagement as “constructive” and reaffirmed “ECOWAS’s unwavering commitment to the restoration of constitutional order.”
In addition to the talks with the military,the ECOWAS delegation also met with the chairman and members of Guinea-Bissau’s Electoral Commission. The commission briefed the delegation on the current electoral situation in the country.
The visit underscores the continued pressure from the West African regional bloc on the military leaders who seized power in Guinea-Bissau. ECOWAS has consistently condemned the coup and demanded a return to civilian rule.
President Bio was accompanied by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and chair of the ECOWAS Executive Council,Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba, alongside other high-ranking regional officials.
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