Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau seized power on Wednesday, installing General Horta Nta Na Man as transitional president just hours before provisional election results were set to be announced.
The military high command announced the move on state television, cementing what international observers quickly condemned as a coup that derailed a contested presidential contest and silenced an entire nation's voters.
The takeover marked the latest chapter in Guinea-Bissau's troubled political history, a pattern of instability fueled by corruption, drug trafficking, and weak institutions.
General Nta, who had served as army chief of staff, was considered close to deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and would lead the country for one year under military rule.
How a military coup blocked Guinea-Bissau's election results
Guinea-Bissau held its presidential election on November 23rd, with voters choosing between incumbent Embalo and opposition leader Fernando Dias.
Both candidates initially claimed victory, creating confusion and tension as the nation awaited official provisional results scheduled for November twenty seventh.
Instead of releasing those results, soldiers moved into Bissau on Wednesday morning and announced that they had seized control of the government.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Dinis N'Tchama said the intervention aimed to prevent election fraud and stop plans he described as manipulation by certain politicians and a well-known drug lord.
Opposition groups immediately rejected this account and accused Embalo of ordering the coup to escape electoral defeat.
Did you know?
Guinea-Bissau has experienced at least nine coups or attempted coups since it won independence from Portugal in 1974, making it one of the most politically unstable nations in West Africa.
Why General Horta Nta Na Man now leads Guinea-Bissau
General Horta Nta Na Man brought military credentials and ties to the outgoing president that the junta apparently saw as assets for stability during transition.
As a former army chief of staff, he held a rank and experience that commanders valued when selecting a civilian figurehead for their rule.
Military officials designated him to lead for exactly one year, suggesting that planners at least publicly acknowledged they intended eventual return to civilian governance.
However, that timeline offered little comfort to democracy advocates or ordinary Guineans who had participated in elections expecting their votes to shape the next government.
What Embalo and Dias claim about the takeover
Embalo had remained in Guinea-Bissau when the coup occurred, but quickly fled to Senegal aboard a plane arranged by Dakar's government. Once in safety, he faced accusations from Dias that he had orchestrated the military takeover to avoid accepting defeat at the ballot box.
Dias released a video circulating widely on social media in which he stated that Embalo lost the elections and, instead of accepting the result, fabricated the coup d'etat.
Dias himself went into hiding, vowing to resist what he called a false coup attempt and promising that the opposition would not accept military rule as legitimate.
He suggested that ordinary Guineans would not abandon their democratic aspirations just because soldiers had seized state buildings and broadcast equipment.
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How the world responded to Guinea-Bissau's power seizure
International organizations and governments moved quickly to condemn the takeover. The African Union declared unequivocal opposition and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of detained officials, signaling that major continental bodies would not recognize military rule as lawful.
The West African regional bloc ECOWAS held an emergency virtual meeting and expressed deep concern over the disruption of the democratic process.
Nigeria, Portugal, France, and the United States added their voices to the call for the restoration of constitutional order.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to national stakeholders to exercise restraint and respect the rule of law, though such appeals historically carried limited weight in nations where military power trumped diplomatic pressure.
Guinea-Bissau's history of coups and drug trafficking crisis
Guinea-Bissau's repeated cycles of coup and attempted coup reflected deeper problems that had plagued the nation since it won independence from Portugal in 1974.
With roughly 2.2 million people and among the world's lowest income levels, the country struggled to build strong courts, honest police forces, and stable institutions that could resist military intervention.
Cocaine trafficking from South America through Guinea-Bissau to Europe had become integral to the nation's shadow economy, enriching military officers, officials, and criminal networks that used drug profits to bribe, threaten, or buy loyalty.
International law enforcement experts linked this narcotics trade directly to recurring political instability, since smugglers benefited from weak governance and had an incentive to block any reform that might strengthen the rule of law or threaten their operations.
Moving forward, analysts warned that the latest coup risked deepening Guinea-Bissau's isolation and economic hardship, while offering little hope of addressing the root causes that keep the nation locked in cycles of military takeovers and democratic collapse.
They urged regional leaders and international partners to coordinate pressure for a rapid return to elections, strengthen support for civil society groups fighting corruption, and tackle the drug trafficking networks that profited from chaos and instability.
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