BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau — Military officers in Guinea-Bissau have taken control of the government, suspended the electoral process, and announced they will govern “until further notice,” plunging the country into yet another political crisis just as officials prepared to release results from a closely contested presidential election.
The intervention followed competing claims of victory by President Umaro Embaló, who is seeking re-election, and his main rival, Fernando Dias.
Both men declared themselves winners on Monday, November 24, 2025, even though the national electoral commission had not yet released official tallies.
Each camp insisted its candidate surpassed the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a run-off.
In a statement on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said the period leading up to the election had been marked by “multiple security, political, and institutional issues.”
Among them was a reported coup attempt earlier in the month, which the Embaló administration said it had foiled before campaign activities began.
Mamadu Ture, the deputy chief of staff, had accused Brigadier-General Daba Nawalna, director of a military training centre, of orchestrating the failed plot.
The allegations reflected what analysts say has been a long-standing pattern of internal fractures within Guinea-Bissau’s security establishment.
But the situation escalated sharply on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
In an interview with Jeune Afrique, Embaló said he was arrested around 1 p.m. in his office at the presidential palace.
Also detained were Biaguê Na Ntan, the armed forces’ chief of staff; Botché Candé, the interior minister; and Ture.
The coup leaders later issued a communiqué declaring that the “High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order” had intervened to counter what they described as a destabilisation plan “put in place by certain national politicians with the participation of [a] well-known drug baron,” according to reporting by the Africa Report.
Embaló said the officers who detained him did not use force but insisted that the takeover amounted to a coup.
The electoral commission is expected to announce official results on Thursday, November 27, 2025, though it remains unclear how the military takeover will affect the process.
ECOWAS has not yet announced whether it will send a delegation to Guinea-Bissau.
The country, which has experienced frequent coups, attempted coups, and political deadlock over the last two decades, now faces renewed uncertainty as regional bodies and foreign governments weigh their response to the latest disruption.
