Bissau, Jumada I 27, 1433, Apr 19, 2012, SPA -- The military junta that seized power in Guinea-Bissau last week is now proposing a two-year timeframe for organizing new elections, a lengthy process unlikely to appease the international community and regional mediators, AP reported. The accord was signed late Wednesday without the participation of the country's ruling party, though a number of opposition parties backed the accord. They include the party of Kumba Yala, one of the two presidential candidates in a runoff vote that was derailed by the coup. "This will allow us to peacefully organize voter registration in a biometric format, and to hold legislative and presidential elections simultaneously," said Artur Sanha, a spokesman for the political parties. The African Union suspended Guinea-Bissau following the coup, and the West African regional bloc ECOWAS has sent mediators. Guinea-Bissau was just weeks away from holding a presidential runoff election when soldiers attacked the front-runner's home and arrested him along with the country's interim president. The military officials behind last week's coup claim that the front-runner, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr., had signed an agreement allowing troops from Angola to attack forces in Guinea-Bissau. No leader in nearly 40 years of independence has finished his time in office in Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony on Africa's western coast that has long been plagued by coups.
