BISSAU — Guinea-Bissau’s armed forces have announced they have taken full control of the state, suspending all republican institutions and shutting the country’s borders, following a fiercely contested presidential election in which both main candidates claimed victory.
In a broadcast statement, the military high command said it had “assumed the full powers of the State of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau”, alleging it had uncovered an ongoing plot to destabilise the country by manipulating electoral results.
The move came a day after outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa each declared they had won last week’s vote, deepening tensions ahead of the official announcement of results.
Earlier on Wednesday, residents reported hearing gunfire at several locations in the capital, Bissau, including around the presidential palace. The identity of the shooters remains unclear.
Military spokesperson Dinis N’Tchama said the armed forces had formed a “high military command for the restoration of order”, which would govern the country until further notice.
In a sweeping decree, N’Tchama announced the following measures:
- Suspension, “until new orders”, of all institutions of the Republic
- Suspension of all media outlets’ activities
- Immediate suspension of the ongoing electoral process
- Closure of land borders, territorial waters, and national airspace
Journalists in Bissau reported that roads leading to the presidential palace were blocked, with heavily armed, masked soldiers manning checkpoints and restricting movement in and out of the area.
A key member of an international election observer mission said the head of the national election commission had been arrested and that the commission’s offices had been sealed by the military, preventing the release of provisional presidential and parliamentary results that had been expected on Thursday.
French outlet Jeune Afrique quoted Embaló as saying he himself had been arrested in what he described as a coup led by the army chief of staff, though he added that he had not been subjected to violence.
Embaló, who took office in February 2020, has been facing a mounting legitimacy crisis, with opposition forces arguing that his mandate had already expired under the constitution’s five-year limit and refusing to recognise him as president.
The latest military intervention adds to Guinea-Bissau’s long history of coups and attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974, reinforcing its reputation as one of West Africa’s most politically fragile states.
