Army officers in Guinea-Bissau announced on Wednesday that they had seized power, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil just hours before officials were expected to reveal provisional results from a fiercely contested presidential election.
Prior to the announcement gunfire erupted in the capital, Bissau, around 13:00 GMT, sending hundreds of residents fleeing on foot and by car as uncertainty swept through the city. Witnesses described chaotic scenes as security forces moved through the streets, though it remained unclear who was involved in the shooting or whether there were any casualties.
State television later broadcast a statement delivered by military spokesperson Diniz N’Tchama, who declared that the officers had removed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló from power, suspended the electoral process, shut the country’s borders, and imposed a nationwide curfew.
The group said it had formed “The High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” to take control of state affairs until further notice.
Shortly afterward, Embaló told France 24: “I have been deposed.” His exact location remained unknown, and the officers did not confirm whether he had been taken into custody.
The development marks the latest wave of instability in Guinea-Bissau, a coastal West African nation long plagued by political crises and known as a trafficking corridor for cocaine smuggled toward Europe.
According to the army’s statement, the takeover was prompted by what it described as a conspiracy involving “certain national politicians” and “well-known national and foreign drug barons” seeking to destabilize the country and manipulate the outcome of the election.
The electoral commission was scheduled to announce provisional results from Sunday’s vote on Thursday. Embaló, who was seeking a historic second consecutive term, was locked in a tense contest with challenger Fernando Dias, with both camps claiming victory after the first round.
In the aftermath of the gunfire, Antonio Yaya Seidy, a spokesperson for Embaló, alleged that unidentified gunmen linked to Dias attacked the election commission to prevent officials from releasing the results. He did not provide evidence for the claim, and Dias’ team did not immediately respond.
Domingos Simoes Pereira, a former prime minister who lost to Embaló in 2019 and has backed Dias in this election, rejected any suggestion of Dias’ involvement. He told Reuters that Dias was meeting election observers when “some people erupted in the room to announce that there were gunshots in the centre of the town.”
Pereira confirmed that Dias was unharmed and remained in Bissau.
