27th November, 2025
Military officers in Guinea-Bissau announced a coup on Wednesday, deposing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo just hours before the official results of Sunday’s presidential election were due to be released.
President Embalo confirmed to Jeune Afrique that he was arrested around noon while working in his office at the presidential palace, alongside Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces General Biague Na Ntan, Deputy Chief of Staff General Mamadou Toure, and Interior Minister Botche Cande.
Brigadier General Denis N’Canha, who served as head of the presidential guard, is reportedly leading the takeover. The officers formed what they called the High Military Command for the Restoration of Order, which will govern the West African nation until further notice.
In a televised statement read by spokesperson Diniz N’Tchama, the military suspended all electoral activities, closed all land, air and sea borders, and imposed a nighttime curfew. The officers justified their actions by claiming they had uncovered an ongoing plot to destabilize the country involving politicians, a notorious drug baron, and plans to manipulate election results.
Witnesses reported gunfire near the electoral commission headquarters, presidential palace and interior ministry shortly before the announcement. Checkpoints were established throughout the capital Bissau as streets emptied ahead of the curfew.
Opposition figures Fernando Dias da Costa and Domingos Simoes Pereira were also arrested and are being held at Bissau air base, according to reports. Both Embalo and Dias had claimed victory in the election despite incomplete vote counting.
International observers from ECOWAS and the African Union expressed regret that the coup occurred shortly after meeting with both leading candidates, who had pledged to accept the people’s will. The missions, which included Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan and Mozambique’s former President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, called for the immediate release of detained officials.
Portugal, Guinea-Bissau’s former colonial power, urged all parties to refrain from violence and restore constitutional order to allow completion of the vote count. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following developments with deep concern and has appealed for restraint and respect for the rule of law.
Guinea-Bissau has experienced at least nine coups and attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. The most recent attempt occurred just last month when senior officers were arrested on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. The small coastal nation, situated between Senegal and Guinea, has long struggled with political instability and is known as a major transit point for cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe.