Another coup in West Africa as soldiers announce taking over power in Guinea-Bissau
A group of army officers who describe themselves as the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” has announced the suspension of Guinea-Bissau electoral process, declaring that they are taking control until further notice.
Penpushing reports that the army officers made the announcement on television adding that they had removed President Umaro Embalo from power, halted the electoral process, closed the country’s borders, and would enforce a curfew.
The coup in Guinea-Bissau comes on the eve of the expected announcement of results from a closely fought presidential election, while the electoral commission was expected to release the results of Sunday’s vote on Thursday.
Penpushing further reports that the election pitted incumbent President Embalo, representing Madem‑G15, against leading opposition candidate Fernando Dias, candidate of the Party for Social Renewal (PRS).
The report has it that shortly before Wednesday’s announcement, gunshots were heard near the electoral commission headquarters, presidential palace and interior ministry, the gunfire lasted for about an hour, however, no casualties have been recorded yet.
Penpushing also reports that a spokesperson of the President, Antonio Seidy, said the gunmen attacked the election commission to prevent an announcement of the vote results, adding that the attackers were affiliated with Dias, the opposition candidate.
The former Prime Minister, Domingos Pereira, who was defeated by Embaló in 2019, however, insisted that Dias was not involved in the incident, stating that the candidate had been in a meeting where the guns were fired, and news of the incident broke.
Penpushing reports that the West African country is the latest to experience a military takeover, following a string of coups in the region in the last few years, while some of the countries that have witnessed coups in the region are Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Gabon.
The record also has it that Guinea-Bissau has experienced at least nine coups or attempted coups between 1974, the year it gained independence from Portugal, and 2020, when Embaló assumed the presidency.
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