Sustained gunfire erupted near the headquarters of Guinea-Bissau’s election commission on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, one day before provisional results from the country’s tense presidential election were set to be announced, according to witnesses.
The West African nation, known for its history of coups, held both presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, November 23, 2025. The presidential race pits incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo against leading challenger Fernando Dias, with both sides claiming victory in the first round earlier this week.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shooting. A Reuters journalist and two local residents reported seeing the gunfire.
Antonio Yaya Seidy, a spokesperson for President Embalo, told Reuters that unidentified gunmen targeted the election commission to prevent the announcement of the vote results. “The men were affiliated with Dias,” he said, without providing evidence. A representative for Dias did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
One witness described residents fleeing the area as gunfire continued near the commission building around 1300 GMT. A driver in Bissau, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were also reports of shots near the interior ministry and the presidential palace, both close to the election commission. “People are running everywhere,” he said.
Guinea-Bissau, a small coastal nation between Senegal and Guinea, has experienced at least nine coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. President Embalo has claimed to have survived three additional coup attempts since taking office in 2020, though his opponents accuse him of fabricating crises to justify crackdowns—claims he denies.
Embalo is seeking to become the first president in three decades to secure a second consecutive term in Guinea-Bissau.
The election marked the first presidential vote without participation from the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), the party that led the country’s independence movement in the 1960s and 1970s. PAIGC candidates were barred from running after authorities said the party submitted its paperwork late.
