Horta Inta-a set the date for the elections by presidential decree after hearing today from the transitional bodies that have governed Guinea-Bissau since the coup d’état of 26 November 2025, which interrupted the ongoing electoral process on the eve of the announcement of the results.
The general appointed to the presidency by the Military High Command, which took power, announced at his inauguration that the transition period would last for a maximum of one year. One of the military’s first measures was to revise the Constitution, approved by the National Transitional Council, which replaced parliament and strengthens the powers of the country’s president.
The transitional president today consulted with the Military High Command, which led the coup, the transitional prime minister, Ilídio Vieira Té, the National Transitional Council, which replaced parliament, and the National Electoral Commission (CNE).
With the coup, the military suspended all political party activities, which is why none of the more than 40 legally existing parties in Guinea-Bissau were invited to the consultations.
The Military High Command, through its spokesperson, General Samuel Fernandes, told journalists that the body had given its opinion to the country’s transitional president on the proposed date, and that the National Transitional Council, through Nelson Moreira, had expressed the same position, with Prime Minister Ilídio Té indicating that the elections could be held in December.
In the middle of the afternoon, a decree signed by Horta Inta-a set 6 December as the date for the next legislative and presidential elections. Also received by the transitional President, the President of the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Mpabi Kaby, suggested that a new voter registration should be carried out before the elections.
He noted that the current number of citizens with active voting rights does not correspond to reality, due to the existence of people who have since moved, emigrated or died, but who remain on the electoral rolls. The scheduling of new elections in Guinea-Bissau comes two months after the last vote, which was marked by a military coup on the eve of the announcement of the presidential results.
General Horta Inta-a was then appointed by the military to lead the country during a transition period announced to last a maximum of one year.
