The prime minister of Senegal refers to the Guinea-Bissau coup as a “sham”

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko joined a chorus of regional outrage at the most recent power grab on Friday, calling the coup in neighboring Guinea-Bissau this week a fraud and calling for its interrupted election to be allowed to proceed.

The junta said on Friday that Ilidio Vieira Te had been appointed as both prime minister and minister of finance, seemingly in an attempt to entrench authority in spite of the criticism.

In Guinea-Bissau, a significant center for the transportation of cocaine with a lengthy history of military interference in politics, the coup is indicative of a persistent trend of instability.

A day after troops overthrew the civilian government before the results of the weekend’s presidential and legislative elections could be made public, Guinea-Bissau military officers appointed Major-General Horta Inta-a as interim president on Thursday.

COUP TO STOP ‘NARCOTRAFFICKERS’, SAYS THE GENERAL

The 47-year-old relative political newbie Fernando Dias, who claimed to be on course to win, faced incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in the presidential race.

“The events in Guinea-Bissau were a farce. In response to inquiries from MPs, Sonko of Senegal stated, “We want the electoral process to continue.” “The (electoral) commission must be able to declare the winner.”

The coup was denounced as an unlawful change of administration by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council during an emergency meeting on Friday. Guinea-Bissau was barred from the bloc’s operations “until constitutional order is restored,” according to a statement.

During his first public appearance as leader on Thursday, Inta-a said that the coup was required to prevent “narcotraffickers” from attempting to “capture Guinean democracy” and promised to supervise a one-year transition that would start right away.

The coup has been condemned by the opposition alliance supporting Dias as a last-ditch effort by Embalo and his followers to prevent the announcement of election results that would have verified Embalo’s defeat.

Following involvement by the West African regional organization ECOWAS, Embalo arrived in Senegal on a special airplane on Thursday, according to a statement from Senegal’s foreign ministry.

However, Embalo loyalists are in charge of the new administration.

The new prime minister, Te, formerly served as finance minister and directed Embalo’s presidential campaign.

Diniz N’Tchama, Embalo’s military assistant, declared on Wednesday that army officers will take charge.

Vincent Foucher, a senior research fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France, added that Embalo is close to both Inta-a and Tomas Djassi, who was appointed chief of staff of the armed forces on Thursday.

RISING WORLD CRITICISM

At least 18 people, including opposition leaders and government officials, have been unlawfully held in Guinea-Bissau since the coup, according to U.N. human rights head Volker Turk on Friday. The majority of these individuals lack communication.

Reports of human rights abuses, like as threats and intimidation directed at journalists and media organizations, have profoundly concerned Turk.

In a statement released Thursday, the ECOWAS bloc said it was suspending Guinea-Bissau and denounced the coup. The bloc promised to deploy a high-level mediation mission and demanded that the military return to their barracks.

A separate statement denouncing the coup and calling for the protection of poll monitors was released by Nigeria, the location of ECOWAS headquarters.

For most of Thursday, Goodluck Jonathan, the former president of Nigeria, was unreachable and his whereabouts were unclear. Jonathan had been watching the voting as a member of the West African Elders Forum. Later, he was safe after he was able to board a special flight out of the country, according to a foreign ministry official.

Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the chairperson of the African Union and the European Union, has also demanded a return to constitutional order.

According to his spokesperson on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres backs the AU, ECOWAS, and West African Elders Forum’s initiatives to protect democracy and advance stability in Guinea-Bissau.

Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric declared, “He strongly condemns any attempt to violate constitutional order and the coup d’etat perpetrated by elements of the military.”