Military officers in Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday announced they had taken “total control” of the politically fragile West African nation, sealing its borders and suspending all electoral activities just three days after general elections were held.
At the time of the declaration, incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, widely expected to win Sunday’s vote, was inside a building located behind the military headquarters, “with the chief of staff and the minister of the interior,” according to a senior officer who spoke to AFP anonymously.
Their statement came hours after intense gunfire erupted around the presidential palace.
Soldiers in uniform were seen occupying the main access road to the complex, heightening fears of yet another power struggle.
Later in the day, General Denis N’Canha, who heads the presidential military office, addressed journalists, announcing that a command structure “composed of all branches of the armed forces, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice.”
He delivered the message while seated at a table surrounded by armed personnel.
It remained unclear whether Embalo had been formally detained. Both Embalo and opposition contender Fernando Dias had previously declared themselves winners of the tightly contested presidential poll, with provisional results expected on Thursday.
Guinea-Bissau, long marred by instability, has endured four successful coups and several failed attempts since gaining independence.
In his statement, N’Canha alleged the military had uncovered a plot involving “national drug lords” and warned of “the introduction of weapons into the country to alter the constitutional order.”
He further announced the suspension of “the entire electoral process,” the halt of “all media programming,” and the imposition of a curfew.
The country, one of the poorest globally, has long served as a transit hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a problem worsened by ongoing political turbulence.
Adding to Wednesday’s chaos, the National Electoral Commission (CNE) came under attack by unidentified armed men, commission spokesman Abdourahmane Djalo told AFP.
Security was already heightened for the election period, with more than 6,780 personnel,including ECOWAS Stabilisation Forces, deployed across the country. Guinea-Bissau’s 2019 presidential election had similarly descended into crisis, dragging on for four months as both leading candidates claimed victory.
This year’s vote notably excluded the historic PAIGC party and its leader Domingos Simoes Pereira.
The Supreme Court removed them from the ballot, citing late submission of documentation. President Embalo dissolved the opposition-led parliament in 2023 and has ruled by decree since then.
The opposition has condemned PAIGC’s exclusion as political “manipulation,” insisting that Embalo’s mandate actually ended on February 27, exactly five years after his swearing-in.
