DST News: General Horta N’Ta Na Man was sworn in as the transitional president of Guinea-Bissau on Thursday, according to an army statement, one day after army officers announced they had deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.
The officers, calling themselves “The High Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” said in a televised statement on Wednesday that they had ousted Embalo, marking the latest episode of unrest in the coup-prone West African nation.
Provisional results were expected on Thursday from the presidential race between Embalo and Fernando Dias, a 47-year-old political newcomer who had emerged as Embalo’s main challenger. Guinea-Bissau has long been a hub for cocaine trafficking, raising concerns over the stability of its institutions.
The opposition coalition backing Dias demanded that election results be released without delay. “There is no reason to interrupt the democratic process. Dias is demanding that we make these results public,” the coalition said. “We hope that the army officers who say they took power will let democracy continue, will let the electoral commission do its work, and respect the constitution. It is they who are really the guarantors of peace.”
The capital, Bissau, remained mostly quiet on Thursday, with soldiers patrolling the streets and many residents staying indoors. Banks and businesses were closed. An election commission spokesperson said its offices had been shuttered by soldiers, and no results announcement was planned for Thursday.
Witnesses reported that gunfire erupted near the electoral commission headquarters and presidential palace on Wednesday. President Embalo told French media that he had been deposed and that his whereabouts were unknown. The military did not specify whether Embalo had been detained.
Fernando Dias, in a video statement on Wednesday night, accused Embalo of staging a “false coup attempt” to derail the election because he feared losing. The opposition coalition also demanded the release of former Prime Minister Domingos Simões Pereira, who was detained on Wednesday.
Guinea-Bissau, a small coastal nation between Senegal and Guinea, has experienced at least nine coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. Under Embalo’s administration, the country’s role as a hub for cocaine trafficking appeared to intensify, with the trade described in August 2025 by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime as potentially more profitable than ever before.
Dias had campaigned on reducing military interference in politics, while Embalo survived at least three coup attempts during his tenure, with critics accusing him of using crises as a pretext for crackdowns.
Election observers from the African Union and West African regional bloc ECOWAS expressed “deep concern” over the coup announcement, noting that officials in charge of the electoral process had been detained. Nigerian former President Goodluck Jonathan, observing the vote for the West African Elders Forum, could not be reached on Thursday.
Source: CNN
