"The PAIGC will not accept any illegal and unconstitutional
decision," and "will respond with all means at its reach," the party
said in a statement demanding that it choose its own prime minister.
Guinea-Bissau's President Jose Mario Vaz speaks with journalists after a
meeting with his Portuguese counterpart Anibal Cavaco Silva (not
pictured) at Belem presidential palace in Lisbon June 19, 2014
Guinea Bissau President Jose Mario Vaz named Baciro Dja
as prime minister late on Thursday, according to a presidential decree,
sparking protests from political opponents who said the appointment was
unconstitutional.
Dja succeeds Carlos Correia,
who was sacked earlier this month in a move that threatened to deepen
political turmoil in the tiny West African nation.
The
ruling party said it would not support Dja, who held the same post
briefly last year but was forced to resign when the supreme court ruled
that the appointment was made without consulting all political parties
and was therefore unconstitutional.
"The PAIGC will not accept any illegal and unconstitutional decision," and "will respond with all means at its reach," the party said in a statement demanding that it choose its own prime minister.
About
100 protesters descended on the presidential palace after the
appointment, throwing stones at the palace and burning tyres. Police
fired tear gas on the crowd and some protesters were injured, according
to a Reuters witness and the PAIGC.
The incident
is the latest in a spiraling political crisis in Guinea Bissau, a former
Portuguese colony that has not seen a democratically elected leader
serve a full term since independence in 1974.
It
has had nine coups or attempted coups since 1980, and the turbulence has
helped it become a major transit point for cocaine trafficked from
South America to Europe.
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