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Soldiers Occupy Guinea-Bissau Supreme Court Grounds, Judges Say

Reuters

   BISSAU, GUINEA BISSAU - A dozen soldiers have occupied the grounds of
   Guinea-Bissau's Supreme Court, the court said Tuesday, deepening a
   post-election crisis that has resulted in the appointment of rival
   presidents and the silencing of state media.

   The West African country's military, which has regularly intervened in
   politics in recent decades, vowed to remain neutral ahead of the
   December election. But the presence last week of senior army officials
   at the contentious inauguration ofUmaroCissokoEmbaloas president
   appeared to signal it had picked a side.

   The electoral commission has repeatedly confirmedEmbaloas the winner of
   the December29 runoff despite complaints by the Supreme Court and the
   declared runner-up that the commission had not respected the court's
   orders to conduct a full audit of the vote.

   On Monday, soldiers occupied the Supreme Court's grounds in Bissau, the
   capital, blocking entry to judges and officials, court
   spokesmanSalimoVieira told Reuters.

   "The soldiers are still refusing entry to the Supreme Court, which
   cannot function," he said, adding that other courts had also been
   occupied by the military.

   State media silent

   State radio has beensilentand the state television channel has shown
   only a blank screen sinceSaturday.Streets in Bissau have remained
   quiet.

   AnEmbalorepresentative, Bamba Cote, saidEmbalohad asked the army chief
   of staff for troops to occupy "public institutions as well as radio and
   TV stations in order to enable the formation of the new cabinet and its
   installation in the state institutions."

   The soldiers will return to their barracks on Wednesday or Thursday,
   Cote told Reuters.

   DomingosSimoes Pereira, candidate of the majority party in parliament
   and shown by the official results as losing the runoff toEmbalo, has
   denounced his rival's inauguration as a coup.

   In the ongoing standoff, Pereira's allies in parliament had appointed
   the speaker as a rival interim president afterEmbalo'sinauguration. The
   speaker, Cipriano Cassama, withdrew his claim to the presidency on
   Sunday, citing the risk of civil war.

   Multiple coups

   Guinea-Bissau has witnessed nine coups or attempted coups since
   independence from Portugal in 1974, most recently in 2012 when an
   election was abandoned after soldiers stormed the presidential palace.

   In a statement Sunday, West African regional bloc ECOWAS
   saidEmbalo'sinauguration had taken place "outside legal and
   constitutional frameworks" and warned about "the interference of the
   defense and security forces in the political sphere."

   The December election was meant to end five years of institutional
   chaos in which then-President Jose MarioVazcycled through seven
   different prime ministers during a series of political disputes.

   "The military seem to be trying to give the final word on things," said
   analyst Vincent Foucher of the French National Centre for Scientific
   Research. "It's clear whose side the army is on."

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