Guinea-Bissau Soldiers Declare Junta, Install General as Leader After Election Dispute
BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau – Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau announced Wednesday they have seized power, installing Gen. Umaro Sissoco Embaló as the head of a transitional junta following a disputed presidential election. The move comes after days of escalating tensions and competing claims of victory from Embaló and his main rival, Domingos Revideiro Dias.
The coup, led by military officers who appeared on state television, is the latest in a series of political upheavals to plague the West African nation. the soldiers cited an alleged plot to manipulate election results involving politicians and a known drug lord as justification for their intervention. This action further destabilizes a country already grappling with a legitimacy crisis and weakened state institutions.
According to a military spokesperson, Dinis N’Tchama, the “scheme was set up by some national politicians with the participation of a well-known drug lord, and domestic and foreign nationals.”
The announcement followed presidential and legislative elections where both Embaló, 53, and Dias, 47, claimed to have won. The opposition had previously refused to recognize Embaló’s presidency,arguing his initial term had expired. Dias, in a video statement, claimed he escaped arrest and vowed to fight back, stating, “Umaro lost the elections, and rather of accepting the result, he fabricated a coup d’état.”
Analysts point to the erosion of Guinea-Bissau’s institutions under Embaló’s leadership as a contributing factor to the instability. Beverly Ochieng, a senior security analyst at Control Risks, noted the unilateral dissolution of the legislature and the diminished capacity of the judiciary, alongside pervasive political influence.
Guinea-Bissau has a history of coups and political interference, raising concerns that this latest power grab could embolden militaries in the wider region, already witnessing disputed elections in countries like Tanzania, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast.