Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau have seized power in a coup d’etat, arresting President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, suspending the electoral process and closing the country’s borders just days after a hotly contested vote. The sudden intervention has frozen the announcement of results and pushed one of West Africa’s most fragile democracies back to the brink.How the coup unfoldedThe crisis erupted on 26 November 2025, when sustained gunfire was reported near key government buildings and the National Electoral Commission (CNE) offices in the capital, Bissau. Troops loyal to a group of senior officers detained Embaló, several top commanders and the interior minister, then sealed off the electoral commission’s headquarters and key ministries.
Hours later, a group of uniformed officers appeared on state television to declare they had taken “total control” of the state, announcing the creation of a “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” made up of all branches of the armed forces. In the broadcast, they said they had ordered the “immediate suspension of the electoral process until further notice,” dissolved political institutions, shut land and air borders, and imposed an overnight curfew, urging citizens to stay calm and respect the new orders.
Elections thrown into uncertainty
The coup came three days after combined presidential and legislative elections held on 23 November, in which Embaló sought another term amid deep polarisation. Both he and his main challenger had claimed victory even before official tallies were released, setting the stage for confrontation as partial results began to circulate informally in Bissau.
International observers from the African Union (AU), ECOWAS and the West African Elders Forum said voting day itself was generally peaceful and well‑organised, but warned of a tense post‑electoral climate and urged all sides to accept credible results. In a joint statement issued after the army’s move, the heads of the AU and ECOWAS observer missions said they “deplore this blatant attempt to disrupt the democratic process” and called on regional bodies “to take the necessary steps to restore constitutional order” and secure the release of detained electoral officials so that “the country’s electoral process can proceed to its conclusion.”
Why the army says it intervened
Reading the coup statement, army spokesman General Denis N’Canha claimed the takeover responded to “the discovery of an ongoing plan” orchestrated by politicians, foreign actors and a “well-known drug lord” to tamper with results and destabilise the country. He accused elements within the political class of trying to “manipulate electoral results” and said the armed forces had acted to “restore order” and protect the people’s will from being “confiscated behind closed doors.”
The officers insisted they had no intention of holding power indefinitely and framed their move as a “patriotic duty” in a state captured by corruption and narco‑trafficking. Yet they gave no clear roadmap or timeline for a return to civilian rule, and offered few details or evidence to substantiate their allegations of a conspiracy involving criminal networks.
Opposition and regional reactions Opposition figures and some civil society leaders reject the army’s justification, arguing that the coup is less about protecting democracy than about preserving entrenched interests. One leading opposition politician told regional mediators that the move looked like “a pre‑emptive strike by those who fear the verdict of the ballot box,” warning that it could “erase years of painful gains” in reforming Guinea‑Bissau’s institutions.
Observers from ECOWAS and the AU, including former presidents Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique and Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, said it was “regrettable that this announcement came at a time when the missions had just concluded meeting with the two leading presidential candidates, who assured us of their willingness to accept the will of the people.” They urged the military “to immediately release the detained officials to allow the country’s electoral process to proceed to its conclusion,” signalling that sanctions and diplomatic isolation are on the table if constitutional order is not swiftly restored.
A country trapped in a coup cycleGuinea-Bissau has long been one of the region’s most coup‑prone states, with repeated putsches and attempted putsches since independence from Portugal in 1974. Embaló already survived a dramatic attack on the presidential palace in 2022 and an attempted military uprising in 2023, after which he dissolved parliament and accused rivals of plotting his removal, deepening the rift between the presidency and the security establishment.
The small Atlantic nation has also been identified by UN and European agencies as a key hub for cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Europe, with drug money exacerbating rivalries inside the military and political elite. Analysts say that as long as overlapping loyalties to political patrons and criminal networks persist within the armed forces, “every election becomes a potential trigger,” turning moments of popular choice into opportunities for armed factions to settle scores.
Everyday impact on Bissau-GuineansFor ordinary citizens, the coup’s consequences are immediate and concrete. With borders shut and flights cancelled, traders in Bissau’s Bandim market report shortages of imported food staples and fuel, while public transport has thinned out as drivers fear being caught in security sweeps or running out of petrol.
Residents describe a capital under nervous watch: checkpoints dot major intersections, soldiers patrol near radio stations and government buildings, and internet access has reportedly been disrupted in parts of the city, complicating communication with relatives abroad. A local teacher quoted by international media said parents kept children home from school, explaining, “We have lived through too many coups to believe promises that everything is under control.”
Regional diplomats are now pushing for a negotiated exit from the crisis that would see detained officials released, the electoral commission allowed to complete its work, and a clear calendar for restoring civilian rule announced.
ECOWAS leaders are expected to meet in emergency session in the coming days, with options ranging from targeted sanctions and travel bans on coup leaders to the deployment of a stabilisation mission similar to past interventions in Guinea-Bissau.
For readers following events, the key questions in the coming weeks will be whether the military presents a credible transition plan, whether regional pressure is strong enough to reverse the suspension of the electoral process, and how far Guinea-Bissau’s citizens can organise peacefully to demand their votes be counted. Until those points are clarified, the country remains locked between an unfinished election and an uncertain new order imposed at gunpoint.
