Guinea-Bissau Military Officers Announce ‘Total Control,’ Suspend Elections and Seal Borders
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau announced on Wednesday that they were taking “total control” of the country, suspending the electoral process and closing national borders, just three days after the West African nation held its legislative and presidential elections.
Earlier in the day, gunfire was reported near the presidential palace, as uniformed soldiers seized control of the main road leading to the building.
In the early afternoon, General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told the press that a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces” was assuming leadership of the country “until further notice.” He read the statement seated at a table and surrounded by armed soldiers.
A senior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who had been favored to win Sunday’s election, was inside a building near military headquarters with the chief of staff and the Interior Minister. It was not immediately clear whether Embalo had been formally arrested.
Both Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias had declared victory in the presidential race, with official provisional results expected Thursday.
Alleged Threats to National Stability
N’Canha claimed the military had uncovered a plan to destabilize Guinea-Bissau involving national drug lords and the introduction of weapons intended to alter the constitutional order. As part of the takeover, the military announced the halt of all electoral processes, the suspension of media programming, and the imposition of a mandatory curfew.
The country’s National Electoral Commission (CNE) was also reportedly attacked by unidentified armed men on Wednesday, according to commission communications official Abdourahmane Djalo.
A History of Political Instability
Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest nations, has experienced four coups and multiple attempted coups since independence. It is also a known hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trade exacerbated by decades of political instability.
More than 6,780 security personnel, including members of the ECOWAS Stabilisation Force, had been deployed for the elections and post-election security.
The country’s last presidential election in 2019 triggered a four-month post-election crisis, as both leading candidates claimed victory. That vote pitted Embalo against Domingos Simoes Pereira, candidate of the opposition PAIGC, the party that led Guinea-Bissau to independence from Portugal in 1974.
The 2025 election notably excluded PAIGC and Pereira, after the Supreme Court ruled their candidacy applications had been filed too late.
Opposition leaders argue that PAIGC’s exclusion and Embalo’s dissolution of the legislature in 2023—which allowed him to rule by decree—amount to electoral manipulation. They also contend that Embalo’s term officially expired on February 27, 2025, five years after his inauguration.
