Ecowas writes in a statement that the suspension will remain in effect until “constitutional order” is restored in the country. The decision was made during an extraordinary meeting of member states.
It was on Wednesday that military leaders in Guinea-Bissau took control of the country, just days after presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the country.
Both President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition leader Fernando Dias had declared victory and the situation was tense ahead of the first official results expected on Thursday.
On Thursday, the military's chief of staff, General Horta N'Tam, was sworn in as the new leader during what is described as a one-year transition period.
Embaló is now in Senegal, which borders Guinea-Bissau to the north. According to a statement, the president was brought to the country on a Senegalese military plane and is said to be in good health.
The opposition had then accused the president of having staged the coup.
Umaro lost the election and instead of accepting the results, he fabricated a coup d'état, Fernando Dias said on Thursday, urging his countrymen to resist.
UN Secretary-General General Antonio Guterres says through a spokesperson that he is "deeply concerned" about the situation in the country.
He emphasizes that the disregard for the will of the people who voted peacefully in the elections on November 23 is an unacceptable violation of democratic principles, says Stephane Dujarric.
The African Union has condemned the coup d'état and the EU is calling for "a rapid return to constitutional order and the resumption of the electoral process."
