Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau appear on state television saying they have seized power in the country

Members of Guinea-Bissau’s military, who say they have seized power in the country, are seen in this still image taken from state television. (AFP)

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau -- Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau appeared on state television Wednesday saying they have seized power in the country, following reports of gunshots near the presidential palace, three days after national elections. The president told French media he had been deposed and arrested.

It is the latest of several coups in recent years in West Africa.

“The High Military Command for the re-establishment of national and public order decides to immediately depose the president of the republic, to suspend, until new orders, all of the institutions of the republic of Guinea-Bissau,” spokesperson Dinis N’Tchama said in a statement.

He said they acted in response to the “discovery of an ongoing plan” that he said aimed to destabilize the country by attempting to “manipulate electoral results.”

The “scheme was set up by some national politicians with the participation of a well-known drug lord, and domestic and foreign nationals,” N’Tchama asserted, and gave no details.

The soldiers said they were immediately suspending the electoral process and the activities of media outlets, as well as closing all borders.

Guinea-Bissau has seen four coups and numerous attempted ones since independence, including one reported last month. The country also has emerged as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe.

The presidential and legislative elections were held Sunday. Incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias each claimed victory Tuesday, even though official provisional results were not expected until Thursday.

How the coup unfolded

Gunfire was heard midday Wednesday near the presidential palace. An Associated Press journalist saw roads leading to the palace closed off, with checkpoints manned by heavily armed and masked soldiers.

An official from the presidential palace said a group of armed men tried to attack the building, leading to an exchange of gunfire with guards. Another official from the Interior Ministry said they also heard gunshots near the National Electoral Commission nearby. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.

A key member of an international election observer group said the election commission chief was arrested and the commission office was sealed off by the military.

“The president has been speaking to people saying he’s being held by the military,” the observer group staffer told the AP. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.

French news outlet Jeune Afrique quoted Embaló as saying he was arrested in what he called a coup led by the army chief of staff. He said he was not subjected to violence.

“I have been deposed,” Embaló told French television network France 24.

Embaló had faced a legitimacy crisis, with the opposition saying his tenure had long expired and that they did not recognize him as president.

Guinea-Bissau’s constitution sets the presidential term at five years. Embaló first came to power in February 2020. The opposition says his term should have ended on Feb. 27 of this year, but the Supreme Court ruled it should run until Sept. 4.

The presidential election, however, was delayed until this month.

Soldiers arrested Embaló’s rival Fernando Dias as well as Domingos Simões Pereira, the leader of the main opposition African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, the party said in a statement on Facebook on Wednesday.

A former prime minister, Domingos Simões Pereira was seen as Embaló’s main challenger, before he and his party were barred from the election after authorities said they failed to submit their application early. He later endorsed Dias for the election.

Bodies demand return to constitutional rule

A UN official said Wednesday that the world body was following the situation in Guinea-Bissau “with deep concern.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “appeals to all national stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau to exercise restraint and respect the rule of law,” Stephane Dujarric, his spokesperson, told reporters.

In a joint statement, the election observation missions of the African Union and of the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, denounced a “blatant attempt to disrupt the democratic process” and called for a return to the “constitutional order.”

It also urged the immediate release of detained election officials.

The civil society coalition Popular Front accused Embalo and the army of staging a “simulated coup” to block the release of election results and cling on to power.

“This maneuver aims to prevent the publication of the electoral results scheduled for tomorrow, Nov. 27,” the group said in a statement on Wednesday. It claimed that Embalo plans to name a new president and interim prime minister, then call fresh elections in which he intends to run again.

West Africa has seen a wave of coups since 2020. Three landlocked nations in the region, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, are now ruled by military leaders who have taken power by force, on the pledge of providing more security to citizens against an insurgency by armed groups.

In neighbouring Guinea, Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya, the junta leader, overthrew the president in 2021, chastising the previous government for breaking promises while promising to rid the country of bad governance and corruption.

In Gabon, mutinous soldiers took power in 2023, shortly after the president was declared the winner of the election from which international observers, for the first time, had been barred. In April, coup leader Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema was elected president.