Guinea-Bissau ‘Opting’ for a Coup

Bissau | TASS | On Thursday, people in Guinea-Bissau were anticipating the official results of the general elections, but instead, the day before, on Wednesday, a coup d’état had occurred. Senior army officers announced on November 26 that power in the country on the western coast of Africa was in their hands, as they removed the sitting president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who had only one day left in his office before the election results were to be announced.

Meanwhile, the two main contenders for the highest office – Embaló himself and his rival, Fernando Dias – had already declared victory after the first round of voting, each claiming it for themselves. However, neither had any substantial evidence to support such claims.

Calling themselves the “Supreme Military Command for Restoring Order,” the uniformed senior officers read a statement on television, declaring that they had ordered an immediate suspension of the electoral process and would govern “until further notice.”

The work of the media and the activities of all government institutions have been suspended. The military ordered the closure of all land, air, and sea borders, having imposed a curfew. On Wednesday morning, gunfire erupted near the building of the electoral commission, the presidential palace, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the capital Bissau, though it had subsided by noon. Instead, armed checkpoints appeared throughout the city.

The head of the military administration of the President of Guinea-Bissau, Brigadier General Denis N’Canha, assured citizens that “they have complete control” over the situation in the country. He justified the power grab by “exposing a plan to destabilize the nation” involving several Guinean and foreign politicians and an unnamed drug lord, as well as attempts at foreign interference in the election process. According to him, the State Information and Security Service, acting as the intelligence agency, discovered a cache of weapons that the conspirators were allegedly planning to use.

The ousted president himself reached out to journalists. “I have been removed from power,” Embalo said over the phone. “And I am being held in the premises of the General Staff.” He added that no violence had been inflicted upon him.

Al Jazeera reported from neighboring Senegal that Embalo had been arrested. News agencies, citing military sources, inform that the deposed head of state is “being treated well.”

According to the TV channel, among those detained are the leader of the largest opposition party in Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) Domingos Simões Pereira, Chief of the General Staff – General Byage Na Ntan, his deputy – General Mamadou Toure, and Interior Minister Boche Kande. Reports are coming in that the military is attempting to shut down the internet in Guinea-Bissau. The military believes that a deadlock has arisen in the country, and any talk of a second round of elections is no longer on the table.

General N’Canha, who led the coup, had been the head of presidential security until Wednesday. The man who was supposed to protect the head of state ended up arresting him instead.

Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced several coups – four were successful but several failed. Therefore, the outcome of the current one is still uncertain.

Yet, the legitimacy of the elections held earlier this week is also being questioned by some organizations and observers. The fact is that PAIGC was barred from participating in the elections. After the Portuguese colonies gained independence in the mid-1970s, PAIGC was the only ruling party in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Cape Verde. Its main goal was proclaimed to be the unification of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde into a single socialist state. In January 1981, in Cape Verde, PAIGC was renamed the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), which marked the beginning of its own history. Meanwhile, in Guinea-Bissau, PAIGC remained, and in 2008, during the elections to the National People’s Assembly (a unicameral parliament), it secured 67 out of 100 seats.

The officers stated that before returning to constitutional order, it is necessary to clarify the situation in the country. N’Canha urged the public to remain calm and for some reason mentioned that the military command consists of representatives from all branches of the armed forces.

The country approached this year’s elections in a state of unrest. At the end of October, several high-ranking military officers were arrested on charges of plotting a coup. In March, the authorities of Guinea-Bissau had already accused Portugal of preparing a coup.

In August, the government of Bissau expelled representatives of two leading Portuguese media outlets – the Lusa news agency and the state broadcaster RTP – having revoked their accreditations. Lisbon stated that it “would take all necessary measures to overturn this decision” and intends to bring the matter before international and regional institutions, including the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).

Embalo canceled his summer visit to Lisbon, where he was supposed to participate in a ceremony marking the end of his country’s presidency in the CPLP. The authorities of Guinea-Bissau emphasized that this decision was made at the government level and is related to the protection of national interests.

In expert estimation, Lusa and RTP have traditionally played the role of primary sources of information in Portuguese-speaking Africa. This provided Lisbon with a powerful tool of “soft power” for shaping public opinion and political sentiments. Through its media, Portugal attempted to maintain informational hegemony, but the authorities of the African country perceive this as neocolonial interference.

The government of Portugal, the former metropolitan power of Guinea-Bissau, issued a statement on Wednesday calling on all parties to refrain from “any acts of institutional or civil violence.” It also stated that the government agencies of Guinea-Bissau must be allowed to function until the electoral process is completed.

The ousted president, according to observers, leaned more towards a pro-Western direction in the foreign policy of Guinea-Bissau. Nevertheless, in 2025, he visited Russia twice and met with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin: in February and on Victory Day, May 9.

Russia and Guinea-Bissau signed a memorandum of cooperation in the fields of geology and management of natural resources. Russia increased the quota for education in its universities, including military ones, for students from this African nation.

As for the opposition, its direction is akin to the course pursued by the leaders of the neighboring Alliance of Sahel States. Overall, most political forces in the country have a positive attitude towards Russia.

The chairman of the parliament and former prime minister Domingos Simões Pereira studied in Russia and speaks Russian, with a background in engineering. The former prime minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam, a political leader close to the military, also speaks Russian; he graduated from the Kyiv Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers in 1986.

****

Oleg Osipov, columnist of TASS AC

Share on: WhatsApp