Portugal summons Guinea-Bissau envoy after journalists expelled ahead of tense election

Lisbon is pushing back after Guinea-Bissau abruptly expelled reporting teams from Portugal’s state news agency Lusa and two African units of public broadcaster RTP.

The move comes amid rising political tensions in Guinea-Bissau ahead of its delayed presidential and legislative elections, now scheduled for November 23.

Portugal’s Foreign Ministry said it has summoned Guinea-Bissau’s ambassador to Lisbon for urgent explanations, with a meeting set for Saturday.

So far, no official reason has been given by either government. A decree issued Friday ordered the journalists to leave the country by August 19.

President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, a former army general, has drawn criticism after announcing in March that he would seek a second term. That decision reversed earlier promises to step down and has sparked a constitutional dispute. Opposition leaders claim his term ended in February, raising fears of unrest in the coup-prone West African nation.

On August 7, Embalo appointed Braima Camara as the new prime minister, the third since he took office in 2020.

Earlier this year, an ECOWAS mission tasked with helping mediate the electoral process was forced to withdraw, saying Embalo had threatened to expel the delegation.