By Ayomide Otitoju
Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Embalo announced on Wednesday that he was arrested inside the presidential palace, alongside his chief of staff, General Biague Na Ntan, deputy chief of staff General Mamadou Traore, and Interior Minister Botche Cande. Embalo described the incident as a “coup d’etat” led by the army chief of staff, adding that no force was used against him.
Reporters on the ground heard gunfire near the National Electoral Commission headquarters and surrounding areas. The country has been awaiting official results from Sunday’s presidential election, which Embalo claims he won with 65% of the vote. Both Embalo’s camp and opposition candidate Fernando Dias de Costa have claimed victory in the first round.
On Wednesday, military officers announced they were taking “total control” of the country, suspending the electoral process and closing borders, just three days after legislative and presidential elections. General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told the press that a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces” was assuming leadership of the country “until further notice.” He warned of a foiled plan to destabilise Guinea-Bissau involving national drug lords and the introduction of weapons to alter the constitutional order.
In addition to suspending elections, the military has halted all media programming and imposed a mandatory curfew.
Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest countries, has a history of political instability with four coups since independence and numerous attempted takeovers. The nation is also a major hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trade exacerbated by its chronic political instability.
