Coup in Guinea-Bissau, President Embaló Arrested
Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló told our sister publication Jeune Afrique that he was arrested this Wednesday, 26 November, at around 1pm while he was in his office at the presidential palace.
The presidential election took place last Sunday, and the outgoing president said he had won with 65% of the vote, by his own count.
Also arrested were the armed forces’ chief of staff, General Biaguê Na Ntan; the deputy chief of staff, General Mamadou Touré; and the interior minister, Botché Candé.
According to the outgoing president, no force was used against him during what he calls a “coup d’état”, which he says was led by the army chief of staff.
Journalists covering the election described a rapidly deteriorating security situation in the capital.
“Gunfire at the National Electoral Commission (CNE) headquarters and areas around,” says one reporter whose team had been monitoring the vote count. “We are hidden in the office of the CNE communication officer.”
The camp of incumbent President Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias de
The camp of incumbent President Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias de Costa have each claimed first-round victory in Guinea-Bissau’s 23 November presidential election, even though the official provisional results are not due until Thursday 27 November.
Disputed Poll
The fallout reflects Guinea-Bissau’s long-running institutional fragility. Embaló, who has repeatedly clashed with parliament and dissolved it in 2022, entered the poll as the favourite, not least because the country’s main opposition force, the PAIGC, and its leader Domingos Simões Pereira were barred from participating.
But the unexpectedly competitive performance of Fernando Dias de Costa fractured the political narrative, with both camps moving swiftly to claim victory ahead of the electoral commission’s announcement.
The arrests signal a dramatic rupture between the presidency and the military hierarchy, long regarded as the ultimate arbiter of political power in Guinea-Bissau. Analysts say this moment was years in the making.
Embaló’s efforts to centralise authority, reshape the security services and marginalise political rivals deepened mistrust within both the political class and armed forces. His insistence on pre-emptively declaring victory, coupled with alleged pressure on institutions to validate his figures, appears to have triggered a decisive pushback from factions within the army.
Source: The Africa Report
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