In Guinea-Bissau, less than seven days after the military seized power and suspended the entire electoral process, the National Electoral Commission held its first press conference on Tuesday, December 2nd. It announced that no presidential election results would ultimately be published. This comes despite calls, made during a visit on Monday, from ECOWAS, the opposition, and civil society for the release of the presidential election results.

It is impossible to publish the results of the presidential and legislative elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) stated on Tuesday, December 2, because the tally sheets of results from the regions have been confiscated by the army. The tally sheets from the capital, Bissau, as well as the phones and computers belonging to the body responsible for organizing the elections, were also confiscated by the military on the day of the coup.

The electoral process, disrupted at one of its key stages, cannot be resumed or completed, the Electoral Commission stated in its first public statement since the coup. This is also what it said it explained to the ECOWAS delegation on Monday.

The press conference lasted only a few minutes. The head of the electoral body, Npabi Cabi, who had been detained for five days at the National Electoral Commission headquarters before being released on Sunday, was present. Looking drawn, he didn't say a word, while several sources suggest possible pressure from the ruling junta. The press was not allowed to ask any questions.

The opposition and civil society, for their part, continue to assert that it is possible to compile the results using the existing tally sheets, given that each candidate's representative received a copy. According to the spokesperson for the historic opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea (PAIGC), this statement was made under duress. Muniro Conte explains, "We all know that the CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission) is under pressure. It must be said that there are no security conditions for the announcement of the results. That's reasonable, that's acceptable. But when they say it's a question of data entry, that's not true. The data has been backed up."

The opposition maintains that all the official election reports exist, as representatives of the presidential candidates received copies, as Fernando Dias explains. The opposition leader is currently hiding in the Nigerian embassy and is claiming victory in the presidential election. "If the head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has lost his data, then people should come together and compare it," the opposition leader stated. "Therefore, for us, it is still possible to announce the election results because it's not just the CENI that has the data. We all have data. I won the election, and I even know by what percentage."

Seven civil society organizations signed a social pact on Tuesday, December 2nd, demanding a return to constitutional order, the release of detainees, and the publication and respect of the results of the double election. At the same time, the newly formed transitional government held its first cabinet meeting.

The options for resuming the democratic process appear to be dwindling.

While the ECOWAS delegation, led by acting chairman Julius Maada Bio, called on Monday, December 1st, for a return to constitutional order, it did not secure the release of all detainees, nor the publication of the election results. ECOWAS promises to address the case of Guinea-Bissau at an extraordinary meeting of the region's heads of state on December 14th.

The Guinean League for Human Rights expressed its disappointment Tuesday morning. It stated its concern for those still in detention, including veteran opposition leader Domingo Simoes Pereira, as well as a member of his campaign team and an official from his party, the PAIGC. Guinea-Bissau's Attorney General, Fernando Gomez, also remains in detention.

Finally, Fernando Dias, the opposition candidate who claims victory in this presidential election, has obtained protection from Nigeria and political asylum, as confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on December 1st.