Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commission announced on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, that it can no longer complete the November 23 presidential election after armed men attacked its offices, seizing ballots and tally sheets and destroying servers containing official results.
The statement comes after army officers seized power on November 26, just a day before the commission was expected to announce the outcome of the closely contested vote.
“We do not have the material and logistic conditions to follow through with the electoral process,” said Idrissa Djalo, a senior commission official, in a statement.
During the coup, several government buildings, including the commission’s headquarters, were targeted. Major-General Horta Inta-a was sworn in as transitional president on November 27, effectively suspending the election process. He has since pledged a one-year transition period.
Servers Destroyed, Results Lost
Djalo revealed that armed, hooded men stormed the commission’s premises on November 26, seizing all election materials and destroying vital infrastructure.
“They confiscated the computers of all 45 staff members who were at the commission that day,” Djalo said. “All election tally sheets from the regions were seized, and the server where the results were stored had been destroyed. It is impossible to complete the electoral process without the tally sheets from the regions.”
Regional Pressure Mounts
The new military government faces mounting pressure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore constitutional order. A high-level ECOWAS delegation, led by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, met with Guinea-Bissau’s military leaders and electoral officials in Bissau on Monday.
ECOWAS, which has condemned the coup, warned that sanctions may be imposed against individuals or groups obstructing the democratic process. The bloc’s heads of state are scheduled to meet on December 14 to deliberate on the crisis.
Background of Political Instability
The small West African nation, wedged between Senegal and Guinea, has been plagued by political instability since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. No elected president has ever completed a full term in office.
Guinea-Bissau’s persistent political turmoil has also made it a major hub for cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Europe, fueling corruption and violent rivalries.
In his swearing-in speech, General Inta-a justified the coup, claiming it was necessary to prevent a plot by “narco-traffickers” to “capture Guinean democracy.”
The destruction of election results and the ensuing power grab mark yet another setback for Guinea-Bissau’s fragile democracy, as regional and international actors push for the restoration of civilian rule.
