Guinea-Bissau - December 2025

On 4 December, Guinea-Bissau’s Military High Command dissolved the Superior Council of the Judiciary as part of measures adopted following the 26 November coup. The junta justified the move as necessary to restore public order during the transition and, the following day,  appointed a new public prosecutor with expanded powers. The dissolution removed a key institutional safeguard for judicial independence at a time when the constitution remains suspended and executive authority is concentrated in military hands, raising concerns about political interference in the administration of justice during the transition period.

Sources: O Democrata GB, International Crisis Group, Reuters, Africa News, Jeune Afrique, International IDEA

On 4 December, Guinea-Bissau’s Military High Command adopted and published a transitional charter outlining a one-year transition back to constitutional order following the 26 November coup that suspended the presidential election held on 23 November. The charter foresees presidential and legislative elections at the end of the transition, bars the interim president and prime minister from contesting them, establishes a 65-member National Transition Council—including senior military officers—as a legislative body. The framework also mandates wide-ranging legal and institutional reforms, including revisions to the suspended constitution and the appointment of new electoral officials. On 14 December, the West African regional bloc ECOWAS rejected the transition plan, called for a swift return to constitutional order, and warned it would impose targeted sanctions on those obstructing the process, raising uncertainty over the credibility, inclusiveness and timeline of the proposed transition

Sources: O Democrata GB, International Crisis Group, Reuters, Africa News, Jeune Afrique, International IDEA