Guinea-Bissau's military leaders said Friday they had agreed to install former presidential candidate Manuel Serifo Nhamajo as the country's interim leader, dpa quoted the Portuguese news agency Lusa as reporting. The move, which comes just over a week after soldiers seized power in a coup, is unlikely to satisfy regional bloc ECOWAS, which on Thursday condemned as illegal the junta's proposal to postpone elections for two years. ECOWAS is demanding an immediate return to constitutional rule. Nhamajo was one of the frontrunners in a first round presidential vote held in March. A second round scheduled for April 29 was derailed by the coup. ECOWAS held talks with the military leaders earlier this week, in which the junta said it would swiftly return to constitutional rule. Friday's decision, which was made after more than half of the country's 35 political parties signed an agreement with the junta, is likely to anger the PAIGC party, which was in power until last week and did not sign the deal. In a statement, the PAIGC said it will not recognize "any institution that lacks constitutional dignity and legitimacy."
