ECOWAS urges Guinea-Bissau's military leaders to release jailed opposition figures

The West African bloc ECOWAS has urged Guinea-Bissau's military-led government to unconditionally release all detained political figures.

In a statement at the end of a summit of heads of state in Sierra Leone, it said this would “bolster the credibility” of the country’s transition process.

The release would include freeing opposition leader and former prime minister, Domingos Simões Pereira, who was jailed again earlier this month.

He has been accused of economic crimes ​and involvement ​in an ⁠alleged coup attempt in October 2025, which he denies.

Pereira was one of several politicians jailed by the military after it seized power in November last year, replacing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.

That coup came one day before the electoral commission was due to announce the results of presidential and legislative elections.

Guinea-Bissau’s military leaders adopted a year-long transitional charter in December that requires presidential and legislative elections to be held at the end of 12 months.

The country has experienced repeated instability since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, with only one president ever completing a full term in office.