Senegal prime minister calls Guinea-Bissau coup a 'sham'

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Friday said this week's coup in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau was a sham and demanded its disrupted election be allowed to continue, adding to a chorus of regional anger over the latest power grab.

Despite the criticism, the junta appeared to be taking steps to consolidate power, announcing on Friday the appointment of Ilidio Vieira Te as prime minister and minister of finance.

The coup reflects a continued pattern of instability in Guinea-Bissau, a major cocaine transport hub with a long history of military interventions in politics.

Guinea-Bissau military officers installed Major-General Horta Inta-a as transitional president on Thursday, a day after soldiers toppled the civilian leadership before the results of weekend presidential and legislative elections could be announced.

The presidential contest pitted incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo against Fernando Dias, a 47-year-old relative political newcomer who said he was on track to win.

"What happened in Guinea-Bissau was a sham. We want the electoral process to continue," said Senegal's Sonko, responding to questions from lawmakers. "The (electoral) commission must be able to declare the winner."

The African Union's Peace and Security Council, in an emergency session on Friday, also condemned the coup as an unconstitutional change of government. It suspended Guinea-Bissau from the bloc's activities "until constitutional order is restored," a statement said.

In his first public appearance as leader on Thursday, Inta-a said the coup was necessary to stave off a plot by "narcotraffickers" to "capture Guinean democracy" and vowed to oversee a transition that would last one year, beginning immediately.

The opposition coalition backing Dias has denounced the coup as a desperate attempt by Embalo and his supporters to block the proclamation of election results that would have confirmed Embalo's defeat.

Embalo arrived in Senegal on Thursday aboard a special flight following intervention by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, Senegal's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Te, the new prime minister, was the director of Embalo's presidential campaign and has also served as finance minister.

Diniz N'Tchama, who announced on Wednesday that army officers were taking over, was a military aide to Embalo.

And both Inta-a and Tomas Djassi, who was named on Thursday as armed forces chief of staff, are also close to Embalo, said Vincent Foucher, senior research fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France.

U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said on Friday that at least 18 people, including government officials and opposition leaders, had been arbitrarily detained in Guinea-Bissau since the coup, most of them without access to communication.

Turk said he was deeply alarmed by reports of human rights violations including threats and intimidation targeting media outlets and journalists.

The ECOWAS bloc condemned the coup in a statement on Thursday and announced it was suspending Guinea-Bissau. The bloc called for the armed forces to return to their barracks and said it would send a high-level mediation mission.

Nigeria, home to ECOWAS headquarters, issued a separate statement condemning the coup and urging the safety of election observers to be ensured.

Nigerian former President Goodluck Jonathan, who had been observing the vote as part of the West African Elders Forum, was not reachable for much of Thursday and his whereabouts were unknown. A foreign ministry spokesperson said later he had managed to get on a special flight out of the country and was safe.

The European Union and African Union chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf have also called for a return to constitutional order.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supports efforts by ECOWAS, the AU and the West African Elders Forum to safeguard democracy and promote stability in Guinea-Bissau, his spokesperson said on Thursday.

"He strongly condemns the coup d’etat perpetrated by elements of the military and any attempt to violate constitutional order," spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.