ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast _ Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister Faustino Imbali resigned amid pressure from West African states Friday, after being in the role for 11 days.
Braima Darame, a representative of the Economic Community of West African States known as ECOWAS, asked Imbali to step down within 48 hours to allow for presidential elections to take place on Nov. 24. Imbali was nominated to the post by President Jose Mario Vaz.
Darame's demand followed an urgent summit of the heads of state from the regional bloc that took place Friday in Niamey, Niger, according to a statement. The bloc, which has been trying to mediate an end to a political crisis in Guinea-Bissau, reiterated its support for former Prime Minister Aristides Gomes, who was ousted by Vaz less than two weeks ago.
Vaz, 60, has been embroiled in a power struggle with his ruling party since he came to office in 2014, firing six prime ministers and raising concerns that there may be an eruption of political violence. Back-to-back record cocaine seizures this year have raised fears that the tiny West African nation could again turn into a key transit point for drugs flowing into Europe.
