João Bernardo Vieira maintained that holding elections in the current political context is not beneficial and considers it necessary to create “a favorable and conducive climate for the holding of free and fair elections.”
The former Secretary of State for Transport and Communications of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, proposed this Friday to the country’s president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, the postponement of the legislative elections scheduled for November 24.
In a letter addressed to Sissoco Embaló to which Lusa had access, Bernardo Vieira, lawyer by profession and former spokesperson for the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), maintains that holding elections in the current political context is not be beneficial to the country.
the politiciancurrently incompatible with the direction of the PAIGC, believes that Guinea-Bissau “is going through a very turbulent time” marked by political and social division, including state institutions.
João Bernardo Vieira says that the Divisions are felt at the level of the National Electoral Commission. (CNE), the Supreme Court of Justice and the main political parties.
“This situation does not seem promising for an electoral process free of challenges,” says Bernardo Vieira, foreseeing greater instability if the elections are held next November.
Vieira proposes to Umaro Sissoco Embaló, as “first magistrate of the nation and guarantor of the normal functioning of the institutions” of the Republic, to postpone the legislative elections and open “a process of national dialogue” with all political actors and civil society.
The politician considers it necessary create “a favorable and conducive climate for the holding of transparent, free and fair elections” with the participation of all.
In recent times, João Bernardo Vieira has been in the interior regions of Guinea-Bissau promoting an initiative of his that he called Peace and National Reconciliation.
In his letter to the president, Vieira reported on the initiative and urged Umaro Sissoco Embaló to embrace it because he considered it an instrument to “purge the evils” that put understanding between Guineans at risk.
The lawyer believes that a An inclusive, frank and transparent dialogue is needed in the country and continues to defend that elections allow democratic alternation in power, but they have not solved the country’s problems.
The main parties and coalitions formed for the November 24 elections have urged the head of state not to postpone the vote.
However, the Supreme Court of Justice has not yet ruled on which parties or coalitions will be admitted to the elections.
Source: Observadora
