Guinea-Bissau: Parties think there is no reason to dissolve parliament

 

Most of the parties with representation in the Guinea-Bissau parliament considered today that there is no reason for the dissolution of the National People's Assembly, after separate hearings with Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.

Guinea-Bissau: Parties think there is no reason to dissolve parliament

Umaro Sissoco Embaló started consultations with the audience this morning with the president of parliament and the first vice president of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde ( PAIGC ), Cipriano Cassamá .

"We think that the dissolution of the parliament is a prerogative of the President of the Republic and we think that at the moment there is no crisis in the parliament," said Cipriano Cassamá .

Asked about the fact that the PAIGC does not recognize the current government in office, the party's first vice president, who won the 2019 legislative elections, said the meeting did not serve to analyze the government's situation.

"The President of the Republic asked us for our opinion on the dissolution or not of parliament", he stressed.

The PAIGC was absent on Wednesday from the Guinean hemicycle and did not participate in the vote on the State Budget for 2021, which was approved with votes in favor of 54 deputies and without votes against.

The Movement for Altern â INSTANCE Democratic ( Madem -G15) also argued that there are no grounds for the dissolution of parliament, considering that all state institutions are functioning.

"There is nothing at this point, from our point of view, that justifies the dissolution of the National People's Assembly," said Madem- G15 coordinator and deputy, Braima Camará .

"We appeal, as Madem , for the continuation of this democratic debate, a difference of views does not mean enmity, insults, violence," he said.

For his part, the secretary general of the Social Renewal Party ( PRS ) told reporters that the dissolution of parliament was not the subject of the conversation he had with the head of state.

"In the past few days there has been some unrest in the National People's Assembly and the President has been concerned about some reactions and thinks that there must be some moderation if we are to continue to work on the prospect of stabilization," said Florentino Mendes Pereira, of PRS .

The official also said that the President was available to mediate, if necessary, the relationship between the various parliamentary groups and that he defended that deputies should focus on national interests and not on "personal quarrels".

Asked whether the PRS spoke to the head of state about the issue of the dissolution of the parliament, Florentino Mendes Pereira said the matter was not the subject of the conversation.

"The PRS cannot convey the position of the President and should not be revealing the content of our conversation with the head of state," he said.

Asked whether the PRS considers that there is a political crisis in the country, the party's secretary general said he did not think so.

The remaining two parties heard, New Democracy Party and United People's Assembly - Democratic Party of Guinea-Bissau, also argued that there are no reasons for the dissolution of parliament.

Iaia Djaló , deputy and president of the New Democracy Party, admitted that the National People's Assembly is operating in a "critical bit" environment, but that the President must "consider the dissolution, because he has time to monitor".

Jorge Mandinga , leader of the APU - PDGB , stressed that the deputies are making efforts to moderate the language and that there are no reasons for the dissolution of the parliament.