Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau declared on Wednesday that they have seized control of the country, announcing the arrest of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and suspending all state institutions following reports of gunfire around the capital.
The military, speaking on state television via the newly formed High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order, said it had assumed “full powers of the state.” Officials cited a purported plan to destabilise the nation and alleged attempts to manipulate the outcome of this week’s hotly contested elections.
The takeover came just three days after the general election held on 23 November — a poll that ended in sharp dispute. Both Embaló and opposition challenger Fernando Dias da Costa claimed victory amidst doubts over legitimacy. Gunfire erupted near the presidential palace, the national electoral commission headquarters and other key government sites in Bissau, prompting mass panic and flight by residents.
In its televised address, the military announced the immediate closure of Guinea-Bissau’s land, sea and air borders, suspended media activity and imposed an unspecified curfew, warning citizens to remain calm.
The move plunges Guinea-Bissau into fresh uncertainty, raising grave concerns about the future of its democracy, civil order and the fate of election results — which remain unendorsed and now suspended indefinitely under military rule.
