President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaru Sissoco Embaló (L) in a handshake with Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye (R)
A coalition of over 50 civil society groups from Guinea-Bissau has issued an open letter to Senegalese president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, criticising his decision to invite embattled preaident of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, as a guest of honour at Senegal’s 65th independence anniversary celebrations.
The letter, signed by the Popular Front (PF) and the Consultation Space (CS), outlines a troubling political crisis, revealing how Embaló has refused to step down from a presidency that constitutionally ended on February 27 this year and consolidating his authoritarian control. The civil society groups argue that by rolling out the red carpet for Embaló, President Faye, who came to power through a celebrated democratic transition, is undermining the very principles he once championed.
The letter details how Embaló systematically dismantled democratic institutions during his tenure. One of the most shocking allegations describes how militias loyal to the presidency allegedly stormed Guinea-Bissau’s Supreme Court, forcing the installation of a pliant judge through what amounts to judicial hostage-taking. This brazen assault on judicial independence, they say, has set the tone for Embaló’s increasingly authoritarian rule.
Embaló’s presidency is entangled in controversy due to a dispute over the end of his term. Sworn in as president on February 27, 2020, following his victory in the November 24, 2019 election, Embaló has rejected calls by the opposition to step down as his five-year term ended on February 27, 2025, Backed by the Supreme Court, he maintains that his term officially began later, extending it to September 4, 2025, due to legal challenges that delayed his recognition as president until that date.
In spite of the opposition’s refusal to recognise him as the legitimate president since late February 2025, Embaló continues to assert his authority, postponing elections originally scheduled for November 2024 to November 30, 2025. He announced in March 2025 that he intends to run for a second term, reneging on an earlier promise not to seek re-election.
Embaló has effectively placed Guinea-Bissau in constitutional limbo. Pundits say this is compounded by his disastrous governance, marked by economic collapse, institutional paralysis, and the deliberate stoking of ethnic and religious divisions.
The controversy extends beyond Guinea-Bissau’s borders. When ECOWAS sent a high-level delegation to mediate the election crisis, Embaló reportedly expelled the diplomats on flimsy pretexts; a humiliating rejection of the regional bloc’s efforts at resolving the political impasse. This defiance, coupled with allegations of state-sponsored violence against dissidents both at home and abroad, has tarnished Embaló reputation in many democratic circles.
The letter argues that Faye’s embrace of Embaló has been particularly jolting because his own political success was possible because the international community stood against his incarceration by an equally authoritarian predecessor, Macky Sall. His landslide victory in March 2024 was hailed as a triumph of people power over Sall’s attempted authoritarian drift. The civil society groups remind Faye that Embaló actively supported Sall’s anti-democratic manoeuvres, making the current camaraderie strangely ironic.
By sending a presidential jet to ferry Embaló to Dakar, Faye isn’t just offering diplomatic courtesy, the letter contends, he is providing a propaganda coup to a dictator desperate for legitimacy. For Guinea-Bissau’s activists, this amounts to Senegal laundering the image of a leader accused of kidnapping lawmakers, weaponising poverty, and turning the state into a criminal enterprise.
A Test for West African Democracy
At stake is more than bilateral relations. The letter frames this as a moral crisis for ECOWAS, already weakened by a wave of coups. If Senegal, long considered the region’s democratic anchor, can not distinguish between statesmen and strongmen, what hope remains for the bloc’s democratic protocols? The signatories warn that Faye’s gesture could embolden other autocrats to flout term limits and election rules, knowing they’ll still get special treatment from democratic peers.
The letter’s most poignant passages invoke Senegal’s storied tradition of resistance. It reminds Faye that his presidency exists because of young Senegalese who died protesting for democracy, insisting that this legacy is betrayed by honouring a leader who jails such protesters. Similarly, it highlights how Guinean and Senegalese independence fighters once stood shoulder-to-shoulder against colonialism, making today’s alignment with neo-authoritarianism especially tragic.
As the independence celebrations approach, President Faye faces an uncomfortable choice. He either proceeds with Embaló’s red-carpet treatment and risk tarnishing Senegal’s democratic credentials, or rescind the invitation and reaffirm his commitment to the values that brought him to power. For Guinea-Bissau’s embattled democrats, this is not just about protocol, it is about whether Africa’s democratic bright spots will point a probing torch on tyranny or become complicit in its normalisation.
Puraburn Great information shared.. really enjoyed reading this post thank you author for sharing this post .. appreciated