27 November 2013 - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Guinea-Bissau, briefed on 26 November, Security Council and stressed that the onus was now on the transitional Government to ensure the timely holding of presidential and legislative elections on 16 March 2014.

José Ramos-Horta stated that progress in restoring constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau following the 2012 coup d’état remained “frustratingly slow” amid electoral delays and a generalized climate of fear.

“The holding of credible, peaceful elections on 16 March 2014 should remain the key priority in ensuring a rapid return to constitutional order,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Guinea-Bissau, Jose Ramos-Horta, presenting the Secretary-General’s report on the restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau (document S/2013/680) and his report on the activities of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) (document S/2013/681).

He went on to say that the transitional Prime Minister had established a coordinating committee for the electoral process. On 5 November, an electoral mission from Timor-Leste arrived in Bissau to advise the technical electoral support office over a four-month period, while the Timorese Government had pledged $6 million for the voter registration process and donated 100 electoral kits. International pledges now exceeded the budget prepared by the transitional Government.

Antonio de Aguiar Patriota (Brazil), speaking in his capacity as Chairperson of the Guinea-Bissau Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission, said that recent episodes of violence and intimidation were a reminder of the fragility of the security situation. The elections themselves — while an essential prerequisite for sustained stability — would not provide a comprehensive answer to the numerous challenges facing the country. The Commission could play a central role in generating international support for reforms under a democratically-elected national leadership, with strong emphasis on capacity-building for State institutions. At the same time, steps were needed to help the economy. “Guinea-Bissau has the potential to become an African success story,” he said.

António Gumende (Mozambique), speaking in his capacity as Chair of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, said electoral delays continued to cause suffering to the people of Guinea-Bissau. While there had been positive developments — such as the announcement of the voter registration process and the scheduling of elections for March — he hoped that, with the support of ECOWAS, Timor-Leste, Nigeria and the European Union, the transitional authorities would respect those commitments and hold free and fair elections.

“Further postponements would be unacceptable to the international community,” he said, applauding the efforts of the Special Representative. Electoral results must be implemented fully and the transitional authorities must do their best to ensure that elections were conducted in a peaceful environment that allowed all political actors to participate. Expressing concern over the recent violence against human rights activists, he said the international community must support the future legitimate authorities “to break, once and for all, the cycle of violence in that country.” They must be given the technical and financial help they needed.

Rounding out the discussion, Youssoufou Bamba (Côte d’Ivoire), speaking on behalf of ECOWAS, said that while there had been a number of positive developments since the adoption of resolution 2103 (2013), there was still much more to do in order to re-establish security in Guinea-Bissau. ECOWAS Heads of State and Government had shown their commitment to the country by extending the mandate of the ECOWAS security mission in the country for another 12 months, until 16 May 2014. To support the electoral process, the Economic Community would make a $19 million contribution to fund presidential elections in March 2014.

ECOWAS also planned to send two formed police units to support its mission in Guinea-Bissau, he said, urging that logistical and aerial support that had been requested to ensure the calm conduct of elections be made available. Recalling that the European Union, Guinea-Bissau Configuration and the Economic Community of Central African States all had pledged support, he stressed the need for shared work to begin to draw up a road map for security sector reform, and justice reform, to ensure long-term stabilization.

Source: UNNews