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Guinea Bissau Prime Minister-Designate Francisco Fadul said today the government of national unity would not be sworn in today, as announced by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He told the BBC he would recommend the ceremony be deferred till 7 February. There was no indication why he wanted the delay.
In a related development, the head of Guinea Bissau’s National Election Commission, Higino Cardoso, said yesterday it would be impossible to hold legislative and presidential elections by the end of March, as required by the Abuja accord, the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, reported.
Cardoso said the delay was “technical and legal” and that President Joao Bernardo Vieira had not yet set a date for the elections. Under the constitution, the president must set this date 90 days before the elections are held, Cardoso said. He gave no reason why Vieira had not picked an election date. Cardoso said May or early June was now a more realistic time frame for the elections, Lusa said.
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