Military seizes power in Guinea-Bissau as election crisis deepens
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau have seized control of the government, halted the electoral process and announced they will run the country “until further notice.”
The move came after President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, Fernando Dias, both declared victory in Sunday’s election even though the electoral commission had not published any official results.
Each camp insisted its candidate had crossed the 50 percent threshold required to avoid a run-off, heightening tensions as the country waited for the official figures.
The regional bloc ECOWAS said on Wednesday that the period leading up to the vote had already been troubled by security, political and institutional problems. Just before the campaign began, the government claimed it had foiled an attempted coup.
Mamadu Ture, the deputy chief of staff, accused Brigadier-General Daba Nawalna, who heads a military training centre, of planning the plot.
Events escalated further on Wednesday when Embaló told Jeune Afrique that soldiers entered the presidential palace and arrested him around 1pm. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Biaguê Na Ntan, Interior Minister Botché Candé, and Ture were also detained.
The officers behind the takeover released a statement describing themselves as the “High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order.”
They said they acted in response to what they called a destabilisation plan involving “certain national politicians” and a “well-known drug baron,” according to reporting by The Africa Report.
Embaló has described the events as a coup and noted that the soldiers did not use force during his arrest.
The electoral commission is expected to announce the official results on Thursday.
