Opposition drops no-confidence motion

Guinea-Bissau’s opposition has dropped a no-confidence motion it had filed against the six-week-old government of Prime Minister Faustino Imbali, a humanitarian source told IRIN on Wednesday. The opposition suspended its motion after parliamentarians decided to give Imbali two weeks to propose a government plan and form a broad-based government, among other measures. If these demands are not satisfied, the opposition could revive its motion, the source said.

Political uncertainty has continued to plague the country despite presidential and legislative elections held six months after President Joao Bernardo Vieira was overthrown by General Ansumane Mane in May 1999. A latent conflict between Mane and President Kumba Yala came to a head in November 2000 when the general tried to take over the military after opposing promotions Yala had made. Mane was eventually killed by forces loyal to Yala, but tension has continued since then.

In April the country’s bar association called on the government to release 124 people jailed in connection with last November’s unrest and who, it said, were being unlawfully detained.