Guinea-Bissau – Protests against PM

Over the last few weeks there have opposition protests against the prime minister of Guinea-Bissau, Carlos Gomes Júnior. According to a report in Bissau Digital, the street-level protests have been against the PM personally rather than against the government or the ruling PAICV PAIGC party generally. The prime minister is accused of having a role in political assassinations in the country.

Bissau Digital also reports that last week in response to the protests calling for the PM’s resignation the president of Guinea-Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanha, stated that there were “not sufficient reasons” to call into question the normal functioning of the institutions. To me, this does not sound like a ringing endorsement.

Guinea-Bissau has a president-parliamentary system. Therefore, the president can dismiss the PM. However, the support of the army and its various factions is a dominant factor in any change in power.

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