Generals shut borders, suspend elections as gunfire rocks capital
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday declared they had taken “total control” of the country, suspended the electoral process, and closed all borders, just three days after the nation held its presidential and legislative elections.
The announcement followed hours of tension in the capital, Bissau, where heavy gunfire was heard near the presidential palace as soldiers in military fatigues blocked the main road leading to the complex in what appeared to be a coordinated takeover.
In the early afternoon, the head of the presidential military office, General Denis N’Canha, addressed journalists while seated at a table surrounded by heavily armed troops. He said a joint command “composed of all branches of the armed forces” had assumed leadership of the country “until further notice.”
The fate of incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló — who was widely favoured to win Sunday’s vote — remained uncertain. A senior military officer told AFP that the president was inside a building behind military headquarters “with the chief of staff and the minister of the interior,” but it was unclear whether he had been detained.
Both Embaló and leading opposition candidate Fernando Dias had already declared victory, even as the National Electoral Commission was expected to release provisional results today (Thursday).
Guinea-Bissau, a country with a long record of political instability, has experienced four coups and multiple attempted coups since independence.
N’Canha claimed the military had uncovered a plot to destabilise the country “involving national drug lords,” including an alleged plan to smuggle weapons into the country “to alter the constitutional order.” He announced the suspension of “the entire electoral process,” halted all media programming, and imposed a nationwide curfew.
The West African nation, ranked among the poorest in the world, has long served as a transit hub for cocaine smuggled from Latin America to Europe — a criminal trade aided by persistent political volatility.
The National Electoral Commission (CNE) also came under attack on Wednesday by unidentified armed men, its communications official, Abdourahmane Djalo, confirmed to AFP.
More than 6,780 security personnel, including members of the ECOWAS Stabilisation Force, had been deployed to secure the elections and post-election period.
In 2023, Embaló dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament and has since ruled by decree. The opposition insists the exclusion of the PAIGC from the ongoing elections amounted to “manipulation” and maintains that Embaló’s tenure ended on February 27 — exactly five years after his inauguration.
