BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau — Guinea-Bissau’s military authorities say they have thwarted an attempted coup less than 24 hours before the start of the country’s presidential campaign, heightening political tensions in the run-up to a closely watched election.
At a press conference in the capital on Friday, October 31, 2025, Mamadu Ture, the deputy chief of staff, said security forces intervened overnight to prevent “an action aimed to disrupt the electoral process”.
Ture named Brigadier-General Daba Nawalna, head of a military training centre, as the alleged ringleader.
He said Nawalna and other suspected conspirators had been detained, but did not disclose how many people had been arrested or whether weapons were seized.
The alleged plot comes just a day before official campaigning is due to begin on Saturday, November 1, 2025, ahead of the Sunday, November 23, 2025, presidential poll.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló is widely expected to secure another term after the disqualification of the main opposition candidate, a move critics say has undermined the credibility of the vote.
Guinea-Bissau, a Portuguese-speaking nation of about two million people, has a long history of coups and military interference in politics dating back to its independence from Portugal in 1974.
Though the country has held regular elections since 2014, instability has persisted amid recurring power struggles between political factions and the security establishment.
The upcoming election was initially scheduled for November 2024, but Embaló postponed it, citing political uncertainty, logistical issues, and disagreements over presidential term limits.
Opposition figures and legal analysts have argued that Embaló’s mandate expired in February 2025, while the president maintains that his term began in November 2020 following the resolution of legal challenges to his election.
Security forces were deployed across key points in Bissau following the arrests, while government officials urged calm.
There has been no immediate reaction from Nawalna’s associates, and authorities have released few details about the alleged plot.
