Guinea-Bissau: President Embaló arrested, military claims to have "taken full control of the country"
Kyiv • UNN
Three days after the presidential elections in Guinea-Bissau, head of state Umaro Sissoco Embaló was arrested. The military suspended the electoral process and closed the borders, imposing a curfew.
In Guinea-Bissau, three days after the presidential elections, the head of state was arrested, and uniformed individuals announced the suspension of the electoral process and the closure of borders, UNN reports with reference to Jeune Afrique.
The "Supreme Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order" announced on Wednesday, November 26, the removal of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, the establishment of "full control" over Guinea-Bissau, the "suspension of the electoral process," and the closure of land and air borders. A curfew was also imposed. This was announced in a press release read from the army headquarters in the capital by Brigadier General Denis N'Kanhka, head of the president's military office.
Earlier that day, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló himself informed Jeune Afrique of his arrest. He stated that around noon, uniformed men stormed the presidential palace while he was in his office. Chief of General Staff General Biague Na Ntan, Deputy Chief of Staff General Mamadu Touré, and Interior Minister Botche Candé were arrested simultaneously. According to Umaro Sissoco Embaló, all of them are reportedly being held at army headquarters.
He added that during this "coup," which he said was organized by the army chief of staff, no violence was committed against him. However, according to several sources, around noon, gunfire was heard near the presidential palace and near the offices of the electoral commission. Uniformed men also took up positions on the main road leading to the presidential palace.
The presidential elections were held on Sunday, November 23, and the incumbent president declared his victory, having received 65% of the votes, according to his own calculations. The election results were expected to be announced on Thursday. In recent hours, both the incumbent president's camp and the camp of his main opponent, outsider Fernando Dias da Costa, announced victory.
On Sunday, the voting proceeded peacefully, but in the absence of the main opposition candidate, Domingos Simões Pereira, who was barred from running. His party, the influential African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), nevertheless expressed its support for Fernando Dias.
On Wednesday, when Jeune Afrique contacted Domingos Simões Pereira, he explained that he was "at a meeting with observers from the African Union, including [former Nigerian President] Goodluck Jonathan, when we were informed that there was shooting in the city center." He added that, according to information he later received, soldiers tried to enter the offices of the electoral commission "to force its head to read out results that declared Umaro Sissoco Embaló the winner," while, according to him, "Fernando Dias, the candidate we support, won in the first round."
Since then, according to a source close to the two opposition figures, Domingos Simões Pereira and Fernando Dias were arrested by armed men and taken to an airbase.