Guinea Bissau Coup Deepens As Military Detains President Embalo, Suspends Elections
By AbdulRahman Tiwatope
A tense atmosphere settled over Guinea Bissau on Wednesday as the armed forces declared they had seized authority in the country and frozen the ongoing electoral process barely three days after citizens voted in presidential and legislative polls.
Gunshots rang out earlier around the presidential palace in Bissau while soldiers sealed off the main routes leading to the building and took up positions across key government locations.
General Denis NCanha later stepped before journalists to announce that a unified military command had assumed control of national affairs and would steer the country until further notice.
He issued the declaration from a table flanked by heavily armed soldiers, underscoring the weight of the unfolding takeover.
Reports from the military zone indicated that President Umaro Sissoco Embalo was inside a building behind the army headquarters at the time, accompanied by the chief of staff and the interior minister, according to an AFP source who requested anonymity.
Election tension had already intensified after both Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential poll even as the electoral commission prepared to release provisional results on Thursday.
Guinea Bissau’s long history of coups and attempted coups cast a heavy shadow over the day’s events, reminding observers of the country’s fragile political landscape since independence.
General NCanha insisted during his address that the military intercepted a plot he linked to drug traffickers who allegedly attempted to smuggle weapons into the country to destabilise constitutional governance.
The military junta also froze all election activities, shut down media programming and declared a nationwide curfew as part of its first emergency measures.
International analysts have repeatedly warned that Guinea Bissau’s weak institutions and severe poverty make it an easy target for organised criminal groups, especially networks involved in global drug trafficking routes.
Hours after the takeover, the National Electoral Commission came under attack by unidentified gunmen, the commission’s communications officer Abdourahmane Djalo confirmed to AFP.
A fresh twist emerged later when President Embalo disclosed that he had been arrested by soldiers during the day’s confrontation inside the presidential palace.
He also said that no violence was used against him and accused the army chief of staff of masterminding what he described as a coup d’etat.
Additional reports indicated that the chief of staff General Biague Na Ntan, the deputy chief of staff General Mamadou Traore and Interior Minister Botche Cande were also detained.
Residents told reporters that they heard more gunfire around the electoral commission building and nearby streets as tension escalated.
The country remains in suspense as both Embalo’s camp and that of opposition candidate Fernando Dias continue to claim first round victory in the November twenty three presidential election while the nation awaits official results.
More details are expected as the situation continues to unfold.
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