Guinea Bissau deal on cards

Guinea-Bissau's opposition pledged Sunday to successfully negotiate a power-sharing deal with the military junta that toppled the country's government earlier this week, detaining top officials.

 "In any case there will be a solution before the arrival Monday of the ECOWAS delegation" that is set to play a mediating role, said Fernando Vaz, a spokesman for the group of around a dozen opposition parties that participated in talks.

"We have two proposals to present to the military. One is constitutional, and the other is for a radical change," Vaz said.

He said that the political parties and military group met for the third day Sunday with a view to agreeing on a political solution before a military contingent from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS touches down in the country Monday.

The spokesman added that the parties were inviting the party of the arrested prime minister to participate in talks, though whether they will accept remains uncertain.

But another political party spokesman said that most parties were reluctant to be associated with what is widely viewed as a coup.

The military launched a coup in the tiny West African nation on Thursday, a day after a re-run vote of a disputed presidential election had been postponed by the country's electoral commission. On Friday the junta offered parties a role in a new "unity government" in which the defense and interior portfolios would be the preserve of the military.

Guinea-Bissau has had several military coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.

sej/tj (AFP, AP)