CPLP demands full freedom for Guinea-Bissau opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira
Meeting in Luanda, the CPLP Parliamentary Assembly insisted on the definitive release of Domingos Simões Pereira, the PAIGC leader and elected parliament president, as Portugal reaffirmed its readiness to host him.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), meeting in Luanda on 24 July 2026, demanded "total freedom" for Domingos Simões Pereira, the leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), former prime minister and elected president of Guinea-Bissau's parliament.
First of all, I salute the liberation of Domingos Simões Pereira. No democracy is stronger when the president of its parliament is deprived of freedom and I hope this liberation is full, definitive, and that we can return to democratic normality in Guinea-Bissau.
Aguiar, the president of the Portuguese Assembly, also reaffirmed Portugal's readiness to host Pereira. CPLP Executive Secretary Fátima Jardim said member states defend total freedom for the opposition figure to guarantee democratic and legal exercise as enshrined in national constitutions. The assembly also handed over the rotating presidency of the AP-CPLP to Portugal, which will hold it from 2027 to 2029, succeeding Mozambique.
