Guinea-Bissau Coup: Military arrest president, suspends elections amid gunfire in Bissau

A group of military officers in Guinea-Bissau has announced that they have taken control of the country, amid widespread reports that President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has been arrested.

Gunfire erupted in the capital, Bissau, on Wednesday, shortly before government sources informed the BBC that President Embaló had been detained.

Moments later, a group of officers appeared on state television to declare that they had suspended the electoral process, as the nation awaited results from Sunday’s presidential election.

According to the officers, the move was intended to prevent a plot allegedly orchestrated by unnamed politicians with the backing of “a well-known drug baron” seeking to destabilise the country. They subsequently closed the borders and imposed a nighttime curfew.

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Guinea-Bissau—situated between Senegal and Guinea—has long been vulnerable to political instability. Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, the country has suffered chronic military interference and has become notorious as a major drug-trafficking hub.

Election results were expected on Thursday, with both President Embaló and his main challenger, Fernando Dias, claiming victory. Dias’ candidacy was strongly supported by former Prime Minister Domingos Pereira, who had been barred from contesting the election.

In a phone interview with France 24 on Wednesday afternoon, Embaló declared, “I have been deposed.”

Government sources later confirmed to the BBC that Dias, Pereira, and Interior Minister Botché Candé had also been detained. The putschists are also said to have arrested Army Chief Gen. Biague Na Ntan and his deputy, Gen. Mamadou Touré.

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Leaders of the African Union and ECOWAS election observation missions issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over the coup declaration. They noted that election observers had just completed meetings with the two leading candidates, who had both pledged to respect the final results of what had been described as a peaceful and orderly election process.

Gunshots were first heard around 13:00 GMT, though details on who was involved or whether there were casualties remain unclear. According to AFP, hundreds of residents fled through the streets seeking safety as the gunfire intensified.

Later in the day, General Denis N’Canha, head of the military household at the presidential palace, read a statement announcing the takeover.

He said the officers had formed the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order”, urging citizens to remain calm. Checkpoints were quickly established across the capital, leaving streets deserted ahead of the 19:00 GMT curfew.

Portugal, the country’s former colonial power, has called for an immediate return to constitutional rule, urging all parties to avoid any form of institutional or civil violence.

Guinea-Bissau has endured at least nine coups or attempted coups in the past five decades. President Embaló has previously claimed to have survived multiple coup attempts, though critics argue that he has exaggerated such threats to justify crackdowns on political opponents.

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The president, 53, had hoped to become the first leader in three decades to secure a second consecutive mandate. His legitimacy, however, had been contested by the opposition, who maintain that his term officially expired in February 2025, after he initially announced he would not seek re-election.

With a population of over two million, Guinea-Bissau remains one of the world’s poorest nations. Its remote coastline and uninhabited islands have made it a strategic transit point for cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Europe—leading the United Nations to label it a “narco-state”.