By Le360 Africa (with AFP)
November 26, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Military personnel in Guinea-Bissau announced on Wednesday that they were taking total control of the country, suspending the electoral process and closing the borders, as the country awaits the results of the presidential and legislative elections held on Sunday.
At midday, gunfire was heard near the presidential palace and men in military uniforms were taking possession of the main road leading to the palace, in this West African country which has already experienced four coups and a host of attempted coups since its independence.
West Africa has experienced a series of military coups since 2020 in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea-Conakry.
In the early afternoon, General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military household, sitting behind a table and surrounded by armed soldiers, announced to the press at the headquarters that a High Command for the restoration of order, composed of all branches of the army, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice, AFP journalists on the scene observed.
What prompted us to do this was to guarantee security at the national level and also to restore order, the general added, referring to the discovery by the intelligence services of a plan to destabilize the country with the involvement of national drug lords.
The intelligence services have confirmed the introduction of weapons into the country to change the constitutional order, he added.
Curfew
The general also announced the suspension of the entire electoral process, the closure of land, air and sea borders and the imposition of a mandatory curfew.
The exercise of command power begins today. The command calls on the population to remain calm, he added.
In the streets of the capital Bissau, only a few passersby were visible in the late afternoon, and a fragile calm prevailed. By midday, hundreds of people on foot and in vehicles had fled the area around the presidential palace seeking shelter as heavy gunfire rang out repeatedly.
When questioned by an AFP journalist, a senior officer confirmed that arrests had taken place.
Outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who was considered the favorite in this election, is in a building behind the general staff headquarters, with the chief of staff and the Minister of the Interior, this senior officer said on condition of anonymity.
It was not immediately possible to confirm whether the president had been arrested.
The National Elections Commission (CNE) was attacked by unidentified armed men on Wednesday, a communications official for the commission, Abdourahmane Djalo, told AFP.
On Tuesday, the camp of Mr. Embalo and that of the opposition candidate Fernando Dias de Costa each claimed victory in the presidential election, while the official provisional results of these elections were not expected until Thursday.
The presidential election, which took place peacefully on Sunday, was held without the main opposition party, the PAIGC, and its candidate, Domingoes Simoes Pereira.
The PAIGC, the historic party that led the country to independence by force of arms in 1974, was excluded - also for a case that was too late - from the legislative elections, aimed at electing the 102 members of Parliament.
The opposition had described the exclusion of the PAIGC from the presidential and legislative elections as manipulation.
The proclamation of election results has often given rise to protest movements in Guinea-Bissau.
The previous presidential election, in 2019, led to several months of post-election crisis, with Mr. Embalo and his opponent Mr. Pereira both claiming victory.
With nearly 40% of its population living below the poverty line, Guinea-Bissau is among the poorest countries in the world.
It is reputed to be a hub for drug trafficking between South America and Europe, taking advantage of political instability.
