Bissau, Guinea-Bissau – November 27, 2025 – In a stunning escalation of political instability, soldiers in Guinea-Bissau declared "total control" of the West African nation on Wednesday, arresting President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and suspending all democratic institutions just hours after heavy gunfire echoed through the capital. The dramatic coup d'état, announced on state television by Brigadier General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, comes one day before the National Electoral Commission was set to release official results from the fiercely contested general elections held on November 23, 2025.
The events unfolded around midday in Bissau, where witnesses reported sustained bursts of gunfire near the presidential palace, the Interior Ministry, and the headquarters of the National Electoral Commission. Videos circulating on social media showed armed soldiers patrolling the streets, blocking access to key government buildings, and directing civilians to disperse. Men in military uniforms were seen loading ballot boxes into vehicles outside the electoral commission, fueling speculation of vote tampering.
By early afternoon, N’Canha and other officers appeared on national television, flanked by rifles and reading from a prepared statement. "The High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order has assumed full powers of the state to restore national security and public order," N’Canha declared. The junta's first orders were swift and sweeping: immediate suspension of the electoral process, dissolution of parliament and all political parties, closure of the country’s air, land, and sea borders, and a nationwide curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
"Citizens are urged to remain calm and return to their homes. Any gatherings or protests will be met with necessary force," the statement warned, citing intelligence of an "ongoing destabilization plot by certain national politicians, with the participation of a well-known drug baron." This reference to drug trafficking underscores Guinea-Bissau's long-standing role as a transshipment hub for cocaine en route from Latin America to Europe, a vulnerability that has repeatedly undermined governance in the fragile state.
President Embaló, 53, a former army general who has ruled since a contentious 2020 election, confirmed his detention in a brief telephone interview with Jeune Afrique magazine shortly after the gunfire subsided. Speaking from the army's general staff headquarters, where he was being held, Embaló described the events as a "coup d’état led by the Army Chief of Staff, General Biague Na Ntan." He insisted he had been treated "without violence" and was "safe," but expressed shock at the betrayal from within his own security apparatus.
Conflicting reports emerged regarding General Na Ntan’s status; while Embaló accused him of orchestrating the plot, military sources later claimed the general was among those detained, alongside Deputy Chief of Staff General Mamadou Touré and Interior Minister Botche Candé. Opposition figures, including presidential candidate Fernando Dias da Costa and former Prime Minister Domingos Simões Pereira, were also reportedly arrested and held at Bissau's airbase.
This latest upheaval is inextricably linked to the disputed November 23 elections, which combined presidential and legislative votes for the first time since 1994. Voter turnout exceeded 65% among the nation’s roughly 1.1 million eligible voters, but the process was marred by controversy from the outset. Embaló, seeking a rare second term—the first for any leader in 30 years—faced off against Dias, backed by a coalition including the barred African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). Both candidates prematurely claimed outright victory on election night, with Embaló’s camp asserting a 65% tally and Dias insisting on a first-round win based on partial counts.
The political fragility predates the vote. In September 2025, Guinea-Bissau’s Supreme Court disqualified the PAIGC and its leader, Simões Pereira, from the ballot for allegedly missing a candidate submission deadline. Critics decried the ruling as blatant political manipulation, especially after Embaló dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament in December 2023 following an alleged coup attempt that he later admitted may have been exaggerated. The legislature has not convened since, leaving the country without a functioning assembly and amplifying executive overreach. Embaló’s term officially expired in February 2025, but he postponed the elections multiple times until November—a move the opposition challenged as unconstitutional.
Guinea-Bissau’s history of instability provides grim context for Wednesday’s events. Since independence in 1974, the nation has endured at least nine successful coups and over a dozen attempts, often fueled by ethnic rivalries, the cashew export economy, drug transit profits, and chronically weak institutions. Embaló himself survived two alleged plots in 2022 and 2023, both of which he used to justify crackdowns on dissent. Economically, the country ranks among the world’s poorest, with over half its population living below the poverty line despite rich fisheries and untapped offshore oil.
As night fell on Bissau, the streets emptied under the curfew, with residents expressing a mix of fear and resignation on social media. Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, in Bissau as an ECOWAS election observer, was reportedly stranded due to the border closures.
The international response was immediate and condemnatory. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres voiced "deep concern," urging the "immediate restoration of constitutional order and respect for the rule of law" and calling for the release of all detainees. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union labeled the takeover "regrettable" and demanded the release of electoral officials. Ghana’s Foreign Minister also condemned the move and called for the publication of election results. The European Union and United States issued similar statements, with Washington suspending non-essential aid pending clarity.
For ECOWAS, this marks yet another blow to its credibility in preventing military takeovers in the region, following recent coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Analysts warn that without swift diplomatic pressure, Guinea-Bissau risks descending into the kind of factional violence that ravaged the country during the 1998–1999 civil war.
As the junta consolidates power, questions remain: Was this a genuine military intervention against electoral fraud, or a staged maneuver to suppress unfavorable results? Civil society groups and opposition coalitions accuse Embaló of orchestrating the crisis to avoid defeat. Whatever the truth, the coup exposes deep, enduring fractures in Guinea-Bissau’s democracy: a politicized judiciary, absent legislature, and a military deeply entangled in politics.
In the coming days, ECOWAS may convene an emergency summit, but history suggests any resolution could take months. For now, the people of Bissau hunker down, hoping this latest chapter of instability ends without widespread bloodshed.
