Guinea-Bissau's electoral commission says conditions for December polls not met

Guinea-Bissau's planned December legislative and presidential polls are in limbo after the electoral commission on Thursday said conditions to hold them had not been met.

They are meant to restore civilian rule after a coup last November after which the military leaders adopted a year-long transitional charter.

As the December deadline for the polls approaches, the country has been gripped by significant political and security turmoil for several weeks.

The National Electoral Commission’s vice-president, Felisberta Moura Vaz, said it had informed military leader General Horta N’Tam of its view.

Vaz told journalists she could not say if the polls would be postponed, adding that this was a “matter for the transitional president" - another title held by N'Tam.

His prime minister, Ilidio Vieira Te, said no political party was “yet in an ideal position to contest the elections", saying most of their leadership was outdated.

N’Tam is a close associate of ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo. Many observers suspected Embalo of orchestrating the coup to halt an election process he appeared to be losing.

The military takeover took place one day before provisional results were to be announced.

However, the country's new leaders in recent weeks appeared to be distancing themselves from the former president.

Embalo was barred from returning to the country last week amid reports of discontent within the presidential guard, a unit seen as loyal to him.

Several members of the guard were subsequently disarmed and placed under supervision at military headquarters.

Guinea-Bissau, which is wedged between Senegal and Guinea, has experienced five coups and numerous attempted putsches since independence from Portugal in 1974.