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Guinea-Bissau’s opposition has declared a nationwide strike starting Thursday, the day it claims President Umaro Sissoco Embalo’s mandate officially expires.
Embalo, who was sworn in for a five-year term on February 27, 2020, has postponed the next election until November, sparking outrage among opposition leaders.
“We call on the population to stay at home. All markets, shops, and offices will be closed,” said former Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam on Wednesday, speaking on behalf of an opposition coalition. “We call for total paralysis of the country.”
The opposition insists Embalo’s term ends on February 27, but authorities have banned public gatherings in recent weeks, leading to heightened tensions. Security forces were deployed across the capital on Wednesday, with Interior Minister Botche Cande stating that legal measures were in place to ensure public safety.
A delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) recently held talks with political leaders in an attempt to defuse the crisis.
Embalo dissolved the opposition-controlled parliament in December 2023, days after an armed confrontation that he described as an attempted coup. He initially called for early legislative elections in November 2024 but later postponed them indefinitely, citing financial and logistical issues.
