Winner of parliamentary elections in Guinea-Bissau demands early inauguration of deputies

The coalition that won Guinea-Bissau’s legislative elections has filed a petition with the Supreme Court (STJ) to demand that the inauguration date of new deputies be advanced, court sources told Lusa this Friday.

Plataforma Aliança Inclusiva – Terra Ranka (PAI – Terra Ranka), which won the elections with an absolute majority of 54 out of 102 MPs, has filed a request “in the form of an electoral dispute” with which the Supreme Court will detain the National Electoral Commission (NCV) for allegedly ” delay in taking office” of deputies.

A source in the Supreme Court confirmed to Lusa that on July 5, an application was submitted from the PAI-Terra Ranka coalition and indicated that the document would be submitted to the judge by lottery so that he could evaluate it and submit a draft decision to the plenary of the body.

In a statement, a coalition led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) and made up of four other political parties is asking the Supreme Court to “force” the CNE to shorten the election date for deputies. inauguration, under a claim to its legal competence in the administration of elections.

The same source in the Supreme Court told Lusa that the PAI-Terra Ranka coalition filed a precautionary application against the CNE’s announced date for the swearing-in of new deputies, 27 July, as it considered it “inconsistent with the law”, but “a few days later it filed a new motion to replace this motion.”

On the 3rd, the winning coalition of 4 June submitted a note of protest to the CNE demanding that a plenary session of the body be held to reschedule the start date of the legislature.

The coalition claims that the July 27 date set by the CNE does not match the date stipulated in the Guinean electoral law, which requires new deputies to take office 30 days after the publication of the final results in the official gazette (equivalent to the Diário da República in Portugal). ).

In a note addressed to CNE, the coalition recalls that the results were announced in the Official Bulletin on June 21, but with a publication date of June 15.

According to the rules of the People’s National Assembly, the inauguration must take place within “30 days after the publication of the final election results in the Official Gazette”.

The ceremony is jointly organized by the CNE and Parliament.

CNE contacted Lusa and cited a statement released on June 22 in which he “disclaimed any responsibility” for the delay between the effective date of the official ballot and the count of days until the inauguration of new deputies.

“Unfortunately, the National Electoral Commission received the 3rd supplement to the Official Bulletin No. 24 of June 21 with a publication date of June 15,” the statement said, explaining the circumstances of the entire procedure prior to the publication of the Official Bulletin. Bulletin.

The CNE also expressed, in the same statement, “total rejection and complete indignation at what happened and is taking the opportunity to waive all responsibilities that come with it, as this practice is not in line with the values ​​of professional integrity.”

The decision of the Supreme Court must be known before the judicial recess, which takes place in August and September.

Interim CNE Chairman N’Pabi Kabi set the inauguration of the new MPs for 27 June 23 June, saying that the incumbent Speaker of Parliament will be away from 16 to 25 July.

According to Article 5 of the Rules of Procedure of the National People’s Congress, the work related to the swearing in of new deputies can be taken over by the chairman of the outgoing parliament, “and in the absence of such, successively” by the first vice president or second vice president, if they are re-elected deputies.

“In their absence, the post of president is occupied by the eldest deputy,” the article also notes.