A group of army officers in Guinea-Bissau announced on Wednesday that they had seized control of the government, just one day before the planned release of provisional results from the country’s disputed presidential election.
In a statement broadcast on state television, spokesperson Diniz N’Tchama said the officers had ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, suspended the electoral process, closed national borders, and imposed a curfew.
Shortly after the announcement, Embalo told France 24: “I have been deposed.”
The officers declared the formation of a governing body called “The High Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” which they said would assume control of the country until further notice. They did not clarify whether Embalo was in custody.
Two security sources told Reuters that the president was being held at the office of the army chief of staff. The sources also said that Embalo’s main challenger in the election, Fernando Dias, and former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, who lost to Embalo in 2019, were also detained.
In a joint statement on Wednesday night, the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS expressed “deep concern” over the coup announcement and confirmed that election officials had been arrested. The organizations called for their “immediate and unconditional release.”
The development marks yet another period of instability for the small West African nation of about two million people, which lies between Senegal and Guinea and has long been a key transit point for cocaine smuggling to Europe.
It was not immediately clear whether the mutiny had the backing of the entire armed forces or if the officers controlled the whole country.
According to their televised statement, the officers said the takeover was prompted by a “destabilisation plan” orchestrated by “certain national politicians” and “well-known national and foreign drug barons,” as well as an alleged attempt to manipulate election results.
Gunfire Erupts in the Capital
Before the coup announcement, heavy gunfire was reported near key government sites in the capital, Bissau, including the electoral commission headquarters, the interior ministry, and the presidential palace. Witnesses told Reuters that the shooting lasted for about an hour before subsiding around 1400 GMT.
“People are running everywhere,” said a driver in Bissau who declined to be identified.
The U.S. mission to Guinea-Bissau later issued a security alert warning that the military had set up checkpoints across the city and used tear gas, cautioning that “a continuation of the sporadic gunfire… cannot be ruled out.”
The electoral commission had been expected to announce provisional results on Thursday following Sunday’s polls, in which both Embalo and Dias claimed victory in the first round.
Embalo, seeking to become the first president in three decades to win a second consecutive term, had previously accused opponents of trying to sabotage the election.
His spokesperson, Antonio Yaya Seidy, told Reuters that “unidentified gunmen attacked the election commission to prevent an announcement of the vote results,” alleging they were linked to Dias, though no evidence was provided.
An aide to Dias denied any involvement, and Pereira, who supported Dias in this election, told Reuters: “Dias had nothing to do with the incident.” He added that they were meeting election observers when gunfire erupted nearby.
A Nation Long Haunted by Coups
Guinea-Bissau has endured chronic political instability since independence from Portugal in 1974, with at least nine coups or attempted coups recorded before Embalo took office in 2020.
Embalo himself has claimed to survive three coup attempts. His critics, however, accuse him of fabricating crises to justify repressive measures — allegations he has denied.
In December 2023, hours of gunfire in the capital were described by the government as an “attempted putsch.” Embalo dissolved parliament in response, leaving the country without a functioning legislature ever since.
A similar episode occurred in October 2024, when authorities announced the arrest of several senior officers accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
The tense lead-up to this week’s election was marred by accusations that Embalo had overstayed his term.
Under his administration, Guinea-Bissau’s role in the trans-Atlantic cocaine trade has reportedly grown. A 2024 report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime described the trade as “more profitable than ever.” Last year, authorities seized more than 2.6 metric tons of cocaine from a plane arriving from Venezuela — one of the country’s largest drug busts on record.
