Bissau, Guinea-Bissau – November 28, 2025 – In a dramatic escalation of political instability, the military of Guinea-Bissau seized control of the government on Wednesday, November 26, arresting President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and suspending the country’s ongoing electoral process just one day before official results from the November 23 general elections were scheduled to be announced. The takeover, announced on state television by a group of officers calling themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order,” has thrown the West African nation into turmoil and drawn immediate condemnation from the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and major regional powers including Ghana and Nigeria. This is the ninth successful or attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau since independence from Portugal in 1974, highlighting the persistent cycle of military intervention, disputed elections, and deep-seated instability in one of Africa’s most coup-prone countries.
The coup erupted against the backdrop of intense post-election tension. Both incumbent President Embaló and leading independent candidate Fernando Dias da Costa claimed victory on Monday, each asserting they had won more than 50 percent of the vote based on parallel counts. The National Electoral Commission (CNE) had described Sunday’s voting as calm and orderly, with voter turnout exceeding 65 percent. AU and ECOWAS observers similarly reported a peaceful process with no major incidents at polling stations. Yet, by Wednesday afternoon, heavy gunfire rang out near the presidential palace, the CNE headquarters, and the Interior Ministry in central Bissau.
Leading the operation was Brigadier General Dinis Incanha, head of the presidential military office. Flanked by armed soldiers, a junta spokesman announced on state television that the military had “assumed full powers of the state,” citing threats to national security—including alleged plots involving drug traffickers smuggling arms—as justification. The military immediately suspended all media broadcasts, halted the electoral process, closed land, air, and sea borders, and imposed a strict nine-hour curfew beginning at 9 p.m. local time. By Thursday morning the curfew had been lifted and borders partially reopened, but the capital remained tense, with shops and banks closed and soldiers visibly patrolling major streets.
President Embaló, reached briefly by telephone by the French outlet Jeune Afrique while under arrest, confirmed that a genuine coup had taken place. However, opposition figures, including Fernando Dias and civil-society groups, accused Embaló of orchestrating a “self-coup” or “simulated putsch” to avoid conceding defeat. Dias, a 47-year-old political outsider backed by the influential African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), released a video urging calm while insisting he had won decisively and calling on the military to respect the people’s will.
On Thursday, the junta moved to consolidate power by swearing in Major-General Horta Inta-A Na Man—Embaló’s former chief of staff and a close ally—as transitional president for a one-year period. The ceremony took place at military headquarters in Bissau. Later that day, Embaló was flown out of the country to neighboring Senegal on a special flight arranged with ECOWAS mediation. The status and location of other detained officials, including the interior minister and several electoral commissioners, remain unclear.
The African Union Commission Chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, issued a strongly worded statement on Thursday condemning the military takeover as a “grave violation” of constitutional order and reiterating the AU’s “zero tolerance” policy toward any unconstitutional change of government. He demanded the immediate and unconditional release of President Embaló and all detained officials, stressed that only the National Electoral Commission has the authority to announce election results, and urged all parties to show maximum restraint. Youssouf pledged the AU’s full cooperation with ECOWAS and international partners to restore constitutional rule and protect democratic gains.
Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement late Wednesday describing the coup as a “direct assault on democratic governance” that disrupts a peaceful electoral process. Accra called for the immediate restoration of constitutional order and the protection of all civilians, including members of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission led by Ghanaian diplomat Baba Kamara.
Nigeria, in a statement issued Thursday, expressed “profound dismay and deep concern,” warning that those responsible for the coup would be held accountable and that the action risked plunging Guinea-Bissau into chaos. Abuja urged respect for democratic institutions and the swift release of all detainees.
ECOWAS, the United Nations, Portugal, and the European Union have all echoed calls for calm, the resumption of the vote-counting process, and an immediate return to civilian rule. Heads of the AU and ECOWAS observer missions, including former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, appealed jointly for the results to be published without further delay.
Guinea-Bissau has long struggled with political instability, ethnic divisions, and the pervasive influence of the military and drug-trafficking networks. Embaló himself came to power in 2020 through a bitterly contested election and has survived at least two previous coup attempts. The country’s strategic location on West Africa’s Atlantic coast has made it a major transit hub for South American cocaine heading to Europe, a trade that has repeatedly entangled senior political and military figures.
As the junta digs in and international mediators scramble to respond, Guinea-Bissau once again finds itself at a familiar and dangerous crossroads, with the future of its fragile democracy hanging in the balance.
