BREAKING: GUNFIRE ROCKS BISSAU AS GUINEA-BISSAU PRESIDENT EMBALÓ ARRESTED IN APPARENT COUP, MILITARY SEIZES ELECTORAL COMMISSION

By Ogungbayi Adeyemi Beedee
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Chaos engulfed Guinea-Bissau’s capital Wednesday afternoon as heavy gunfire erupted near the presidential palace and National Electoral Commission, with reports confirming the arrest of President Umaro Sissoco Embaló in what appears to be a military-led coup d’état just three days after disputed presidential elections.

Embaló, 53, who claimed victory with 65% of the vote in Sunday’s poll, told Jeune Afrique in a brief interview from detention that he was seized around 1 p.m. local time (1300 GMT) while working in his office at the Government Palace. “This is a coup d’état,” he stated, alleging the operation was orchestrated by Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Biaguê Na Ntan, who led the arrest without violence. Also detained were Deputy Chief of Staff General Mamadou Touré and Interior Minister Botché Candé, sources close to the palace confirmed.

Videos circulating on social media show panicked residents fleeing streets near the palace and electoral headquarters, with bursts of automatic gunfire echoing in the background. One clip, timestamped 1:15 p.m., captures a crowd scattering as soldiers in unmarked vehicles cordon off the area. No casualties have been reported yet, but internet blackouts and mobile network disruptions have hampered real-time updates.

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The upheaval stems from Sunday’s concurrent presidential and legislative elections, marred by controversy. Embaló’s People’s Party-Guinea-Bissau (PAIGC) was barred by the Supreme Court for late filings, leaving the field to 12 candidates, including opposition figure Fernando Dias da Costa, who also prematurely declared victory. Official results were due Wednesday, but the military’s seizure of the electoral commission building has frozen the process.

Opposition leaders decried the vote as an “institutional coup” by Embaló, whose term legally expired in February but was extended amid legal battles. Guinea-Bissau, a fragile Portuguese-speaking nation of 2.2 million, has endured at least 10 successful or attempted coups since independence in 1974, including a failed plot against Embaló in December 2023 and senior officer arrests in late October.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) already strained by juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso condemned the “unconstitutional change” and summoned an emergency summit in Abuja for Thursday. ECOWAS Chair, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, called it a “direct threat to democratic gains,” vowing sanctions if Embaló isn’t restored.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro echoed the alarm, urging restraint and offering mediation. The U.S. Embassy in Bissau ordered staff sheltering, while the UN Security Council scheduled a closed briefing.

Military spokesmen have not commented, but analysts point to deep rifts between Embaló and the armed forces, long the “ultimate arbiter” in Bissau-Guinean politics. Protests are brewing in the streets, with opposition youth groups mobilizing against “military tyranny.”

As night falls in Bissau, the fate of Embaló and Guinea-Bissau’s fragile democracy hangs in the balance. Borders remain open, but flights to Dakar and Lisbon are grounded.
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