AFBA slams ‘Brazen’ military takeover in Guinea-Bissau, says ‘No place for military rule in modern Africa’

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The African Bar Association (AFBA) has issued a forceful condemnation of the military takeover in Guinea-Bissau, calling the action an “unlawful assault on democratic governance” and a blatant violation of regional and continental legal norms.

In a 27 November 2025. statement signed by AFBA President, High Chief Ibrahim Eddy Mark, the association denounced the sudden interruption of Guinea-Bissau’s electoral process, which occurred just as vote tabulation was underway. AFBA described the move as a direct attack on the sovereign will of citizens and a dangerous setback for the rule of law in West Africa.

According to AFBA, the coup contravenes several key legal instruments, including the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which explicitly prohibits the acquisition of power through unconstitutional means. The group noted that Articles 1 and 45 of the protocol require sanctions against any member state where democratic order is abruptly overturned.

AFBA also cited multiple articles of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG)—notably Article 23, which categorises military seizures of power as unconstitutional changes of government. Under Article 25, the African Union is obligated to impose punitive measures on perpetrators of such actions, while the AU Constitutive Act bars unconstitutional regimes from participating in AU activities.

AFBA’s Demands

The association called for:

• Immediate restoration of constitutional order and respect for electoral outcomes.
• Activation of ECOWAS and AU enforcement mechanisms, including diplomatic and targeted sanctions.
• Protection of election officials, journalists and political actors, as well as an independent investigation into the crisis.
• International solidarity with the people of Guinea-Bissau, whose right to freely choose their leaders has been violated.

AFBA further aligned itself with the joint statement issued on November 26, 2025, by the African Union Election Observation Mission, ECOWAS Election Observation Mission and the West African Elders Forum, all of whom condemned the instability triggered by the coup.

“The unconstitutional seizure of power in Guinea-Bissau is a clear breach of the continent’s most fundamental democratic norms, and it must not stand,” AFBA said. “Democracy, justice, and constitutional order must prevail.”