Guinea-Bissau Schedules Presidential and Legislative Elections for December 6, 2026

Transitional Authorities Announce First Official Electoral Timetable Since 2025 Coup.

Guinea-Bissau’s transitional authorities have announced that presidential and legislative elections will be held on December 6, 2026, setting the country’s first official electoral timetable since the military coup of November 2025.

The decision was announced on Wednesday through Presidential Decree No. 02/2026, signed by transitional President Gen. Horta Inta-a. According to the decree, the elections will be organized under conditions that will be “progressively put in place” to ensure the process is free, fair, and transparent.

The announcement comes amid growing pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has consistently called for a shorter and more inclusive transition.

Earlier this month, an ECOWAS delegation led by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, the bloc’s current chair, visited the capital Bissau to engage transitional leaders on the transition timeline. Speaking at the end of the visit on January 10, President Bio emphasized the need for a “rapid return to constitutional normalcy”, in line with decisions taken at ECOWAS’s 68th summit.

The delegation also included ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray and Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Despite the announcement, ECOWAS has not yet issued an official response to the December 2026 election timeline.

The regional body had previously rejected an earlier transition calendar proposed by the coup leaders. It continues to demand:

• The release of all political detainees

• Guarantees for the protection of state institutions

• Continued security support by the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau (ECOMIB)

ECOWAS has also not ruled out targeted sanctions if it determines that the transition process is being deliberately obstructed. Tensions remain high over the continued detention of Domingos Simões Pereira, a former speaker of parliament and a leading opposition figure.

Although several political detainees were released following Senegalese mediation, Pereira remains in custody. His detention remains a major point of contention between the transitional authorities and international partners.

Gen. Horta Inta-a seized power on November 26, 2025, after the military interrupted the electoral process just 24 hours before the official announcement of results from the November 23 presidential and legislative elections.

Those elections had been described as free, transparent, and peaceful by ECOWAS and multiple international observer missions.

Following the coup:

• ECOWAS suspended Guinea-Bissau from its decision-making bodies

• The bloc called for a civilian-led transition

• Transitional authorities adopted a Political Charter of the Transition on November 27, 2025

That charter now serves as the legal framework for the newly announced December 2026 elections.

It remains unclear whether the new election timetable will satisfy ECOWAS’s demand for a shorter transition or help Guinea-Bissau avoid further diplomatic and economic pressure.

For now, the December 6, 2026 vote represents a critical test of the transitional authorities’ commitment to restoring constitutional governance in the country.