Guinea-Bissau's military seized power on Wednesday, appointing General Horta N’Tam as interim leader for one year, just before election results were due. President Umaro Sissoco Embalo was detained but safely evacuated to Senegal. Opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa claimed victory and accused Embalo of orchestrating the coup.
The coup in Guinea-Bissau unfolded on Wednesday, derailing the announcement of provisional results from Sunday's presidential and parliamentary elections. The military acted a day before the results were expected, citing a plot involving 'drug lords' and weapons importation to alter the constitutional order, according to General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office.
General Horta N’Tam, the army's chief of staff and a recent ally of Embalo, was sworn in as the country's new leader for one year at the military headquarters. 'I have just been sworn in to lead the High Command,' N’Tam declared during the oath. He addressed a press conference surrounded by armed soldiers, stating the military had moved 'to block operations that aimed to threaten our democracy' and that 'necessary measures are urgent and important and require everyone’s participation.' The military also appointed General Tomas Djassi, formerly Embalo's personal chief of staff, as armed forces chief.
Embalo, who had claimed victory in the polls, was detained but arrived 'safe and sound' in Senegal via a military plane chartered by Dakar’s government, Senegal's foreign ministry confirmed. Opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa, Embalo's main challenger after Domingos Simoes Pereira was barred, alleged from hiding that he had won with around 52% of the vote and that 'there wasn’t a coup' but one 'organised by Mr Embalo.' Dias escaped arrest at his campaign headquarters, while Pereira was detained.
Bissau stood still on Thursday, with shops and markets closed and soldiers patrolling streets. The military banned media programming and protests, sealed then reopened borders, lifted a curfew, and ordered markets and schools to resume. Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, leading the West African Elders Forum election observation mission, was safely evacuated to Abuja amid the chaos. In a joint statement with other observers, he condemned the coup as an attempt to derail democracy.
The African Union demanded Embalo's immediate release, ECOWAS chair Julius Maada Bio called it a 'grave violation of Guinea-Bissau’s constitutional order,' and the EU urged a return to constitutional rule. Researchers and diaspora members suggested the coup might ultimately benefit Embalo, noting unverified results showed Dias leading. Guinea-Bissau, independent from Portugal since 1974, has seen four successful coups and several attempts, with contested elections a recurring issue. Local soap seller Mamadou Woury Diallo lamented, 'Every time we feel hopeful about the country, a crisis occurs. This can’t go on.'
