Bissau, Guinea-Bissau – 27 November 2025
The heads of the joint African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).org), and West African Elders Forum (WAEF) election observation missions have issued a strongly worded joint statement deploring the military coup d’état that took place in Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, just days after the country held presidential and legislative elections on 23 November.
In their statement released in Kigali, Rwanda, where some mission leaders were meeting, the observers expressed “deep concern and unequivocal condemnation” of the military’s seizure of power while the nation awaited official election results.
“We express deep concern with the announcement of a coup d’état by the armed forces while the nation was waiting for the announcement of the results,” the statement read. “It is regrettable that this announcement came at the very moment when the observation missions had just concluded separate meetings with the two leading presidential candidates, both of whom had publicly assured us of their commitment to accept the verdict of the ballot box.”
Early Wednesday morning, a group of senior military officers identifying themselves as the “High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order” appeared on state television (TGB) and radio and announced that they had “assumed full powers of the State with immediate effect.” They declared President Umaro Sissoco Embaló deposed, dissolved the National People’s Assembly, suspended the Constitution, and ordered the indefinite postponement of the announcement of election results.
The military junta immediately imposed sweeping restrictions: all land, air, and sea borders were closed, a nightly curfew from 21:00 to 06:00 was enforced, and all media outlets—public and private—were ordered off air until further notice. Internet access was severely restricted across the country.
Reports confirm that President Embaló was taken into custody by troops at the presidential palace in Bissau shortly after 08:00 local time. Prime Minister Rui Duarte de Barros and several ministers were also detained. The President of the National Electoral Commission (CNE), José Pedro Sambu, and at least twelve senior electoral officials were arrested at CNE headquarters while tabulating final results.
The observer missions, which had deployed more than 150 short- and long-term observers across all eight regions and the autonomous sector of Bissau, had earlier praised the conduct of the 23 November elections. Preliminary findings described voter turnout as “remarkably high” (estimated at over 78%), with voting largely peaceful and orderly despite logistical challenges in some remote areas.
Both incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló (running for re-election under the Madem G-15 banner) and main opposition challenger Domingos Simões Pereira (PAIGC) had claimed victory on Monday based on parallel vote tabulations, heightening tension as the country waited for the CNE to release official results, originally scheduled for Thursday 27 November.
The joint observer statement urged the coup leaders to “immediately and unconditionally” release President Embaló, the Prime Minister, all detained electoral officials, and other political figures, and to allow the National Electoral Commission to complete its work without further interference.
“We call on the African Union and ECOWAS to take swift and decisive measures, including the possible activation of targeted sanctions and suspension from both organisations, to restore constitutional order and ensure respect for the democratic will of the people of Guinea-Bissau,” the statement continued.
ECOWAS has already scheduled an emergency summit of Heads of State for Friday 28 November in Abuja, Nigeria, while the AU Peace and Security Council is expected to convene on Thursday afternoon.
This is the fourth military intervention in Guinea-Bissau since 2003 and the second during President Embaló’s term (he himself came to power after disputed elections in 2019–2020 and survived an attempted coup in February 2022).
International reaction has been uniformly negative. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the coup “in the strongest terms” and demanded the immediate restoration of constitutional order. The United States, Portugal, France, and the European Union issued similar statements threatening suspension of development aid and possible targeted sanctions.
As of Thursday morning, central Bissau remains calm but tense, with armored vehicles stationed at key intersections and military patrols enforcing the curfew. Internet blackouts and media silence continue, making independent verification difficult.
