Military officers seize power in a Guinea-Bissau coup, detaining President Embaló and suspending the election process

Military officers in Guinea-Bissau declared a takeover on Wednesday in Bissau, saying they had seized power after detaining President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and suspending the country’s electoral process as tensions rose over Sunday’s presidential vote.

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Government officials told the BBC that Embaló was arrested shortly after gunfire erupted in the capital.

Hours later, uniformed officers appeared on state television claiming they had intervened to stop a political plot supported, they alleged, by a well-known drug trafficker intent on destabilising the nation.

They announced the closure of all borders and imposed a night-time curfew.

The dramatic escalation came as Guinea-Bissau awaited the presidential election results, expected on Thursday.

Both Embaló and his closest rival Fernando Dias had claimed victory in a contest already marked by fierce rivalries.

Dias was backed by former Prime Minister Domingos Pereira, who had been barred from running.

In a phone call to France 24 on Wednesday afternoon, Embaló said: “I have been deposed.” Government sources later told the BBC that Dias, Pereira and Interior Minister Botché Candé were also in custody.

They added that army chief Gen Biague Na Ntan and his deputy, Gen Mamadou Touré, had been arrested by the putschists.

The takeover has deepened uncertainty in the small West African country, which lies between Senegal and Guinea and has long been known for chronic instability and its reputation as a major drug-trafficking hub.

The military has played a defining role in its politics since independence from Portugal in 1974.

In a joint statement, election observers from the African Union and Ecowas expressed grave concern over what they described as a coup d’état, noting that the electoral process had been “orderly and peaceful” before the intervention.

They said they had only recently concluded meetings with both leading candidates, who assured them they would respect the outcome.

The sudden rupture in the electoral process has heightened fears of prolonged unrest in a nation already accustomed to political volatility.