Guinea-Bissau’s MSD leader calls for inclusive political mediation
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on O Democrata
Joana Cobde Nhanca, leader of Guinea-Bissau’s Social Democratic Movement, says all legally constituted parties should take part in mediation of the political crisis. On 27 October 2026, she accused the ECOWAS mission of favouring certain actors and called for better representation of different groups, particularly women-led parties, in an interview with O Democrata.
The president of Guinea-Bissau’s Social Democratic Movement (MSD), Joana Cobde Nhanca, has called for all legally constituted democratic parties to take part in mediation aimed at ending the country’s political crisis. She spoke on Tuesday 27 October 2026 in an interview with the newspaper O Democrata.
Joana Cobde Nhanca criticised the ECOWAS mission for engaging only with parties she considers favourable to the current regime. The mission, led by Senegal’s Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, is in Guinea-Bissau to support mediation between political actors. The MSD leader specifically called for parties representing women to be heard.
Asked about the national reconciliation pact proposed by Guinea-Bissau’s prime minister, which provides for an agreed electoral timetable, Joana Cobde Nhanca said elections alone would not resolve the crisis without a fully functioning justice system. She also called on the military to return to their barracks and leave political power to civilians.
Her call comes as ECOWAS engages with political actors in Guinea-Bissau. Organisations had challenged the Senegalese mediation on 23 October, while Senegal was negotiating a new election date, according to reports published on 23 and 25 October.
