Guinea-Bissau sets election date following last year's coup

"The West African country is set to hold legislative and presidential elections on December 6. Guinea-Bissau's military government has set a date for new elections following the ousting of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in a coup late last year, according to a statement by the army leader. All the conditions for organising free, fair and transparent elections have been met, said a decree read on Wednesday by Major-General Horta Inta-a."

"A coup in November removed Embalo and inaugurated former army chief of staff Inta-a as the head of the military government, tasked with overseeing a one-year transition period. A transitional charter published in early December bars Inta-a a close Embalo associate from running for election. The military claimed that it seized power as Embalo was seeking a second term in a presidential election to avoid a bloodbath between supporters of the rival candidates."

"The country of 2.2 million people is known as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trend that experts say has fuelled its political crises. The election announcement comes weeks after a visit to Guinea-Bissau by an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission, led by Sierra Leonean President and ECOWAS chair Julius Maada Bio and his Senegalese counterpart Bassirou Diomaye Faye."

Legislative and presidential elections will take place on December 6 under the military government installed after a November coup that ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo. Major-General Horta Inta-a read a decree stating that conditions for free, fair and transparent elections have been met. A transitional charter published in early December bars Inta-a, described as a close Embalo associate, from running while he oversees a one-year transition. The military says the takeover aimed to prevent bloodshed as Embalo sought a second term. Guinea-Bissau has a history of coups, is a drug trafficking hub, and faces ECOWAS pressure to ensure a short, transparent transition and release political opponents.

Read at www.aljazeera.com