- Announces closure of all borders
- Suspends poll as both President, main rival claim victory
The Guinea-Bissau Military said they have taken “total control” of the West African country, amid election chaos in which the two main contenders claim having won the presidency.
In a statement read out at the Army’s headquarters in the capital Bissau and broadcast on state TV, the Military officers said they were suspending Guinea-Bissau’s electoral process and closing its borders with immediate effect.
The announcement, coming three days after elections, said the officers have formed “the high Military command for the restoration of order”, and would rule the country until further notice.
Reports earlier on Wednesday indicated that shots were heard near the Election Commission Headquarters, Presidential Palace and Interior Ministry, although it was not clear who was responsible for the action.
The military takeover is the latest in a string of coups and attempted coups in Guinea-Bissau since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974.
According to the World Bank, the average yearly income in the country of 2.2 million people was just $963 (£728) in 2024.
In 2008, the United Nations (UN) labelled Guinea-Bissau a “narco state” because of its role as a hub for the global cocaine trade.
Situated between Senegal and Guinea, the country’s coastline features numerous river deltas and the 88 islands of the Bijagós archipelago, which experts said had provided the natural, discrete drop-off points used by Colombian drug cartels.
The incumbent President, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, had been vying to become the first president to win a second term in power in three decades. Both he and his main rival, Fernando Dias, claimed they won in the first round of elections, held on Sunday.
A spokesperson for Embaló had on Wednesday claimed the shots were being fired by gunmen affiliated to Dias. This is as a Dias ally blamed Embaló for trying to simulate a coup attempt so that he could declare an emergency and retain power.
However, amid the claims and counter claims, neither parties provided any evidence to back up their allegations.
The Election Commission was due to announce provisional results in the presidential and parliamentary elections on Thursday.
There have been at least nine coups in Guinea-Bissau between independence and Embaló taking office in 2020, according to Reuters. Embaló claimed to have survived three coup attempts during his first term in office, the most recent in October.
But critics have always claimed that President Embaló fabricated the putsch attempts, using them as an excuse to repress opposition.
In December 2023, sounds of gunfire rented the air for hours in Bissau, with President Embaló alleging that it was an attempted coup.
Consequently, he dissolved parliament and Guinea-Bissau has not had a properly functioning legislature since that action was taken two years ago – With AFP and Reuters reports
