Gunfire erupted outside Guinea-Bissau’s presidential palace on Wednesday, plunging the already-tense West African nation into yet another political crisis just three days after its general elections.
By afternoon, senior military officers appeared on national television to announce they had assumed “total control” of the country, closed all borders, and suspended the ongoing electoral process. The declaration was delivered by General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, who sat flanked by armed soldiers as he read out the statement.
According to N’Canha, a joint command drawn from all branches of the armed forces is now leading the country “until further notice.” He claimed the military had uncovered a plot involving “national drug lords,” including the alleged importation of weapons intended to disrupt the constitutional order. A nationwide curfew and a suspension of all media programming were immediately imposed.
Moments earlier, an AFP journalist had reported heavy gunfire near the presidential palace in Bissau, sending crowds fleeing as soldiers took control of the main road leading to the complex.
A senior military officer, speaking anonymously, said incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo was inside a secured building with the chief of staff and the interior minister. It remains unclear whether the president is being detained.
Both Embalo and opposition contender Fernando Dias had already declared victory in Sunday’s presidential race, with provisional results expected Thursday. The disputed vote added to a climate of mistrust following the exclusion of the powerful PAIGC party—architects of Guinea-Bissau’s independence—from both the presidential and parliamentary ballots after the Supreme Court ruled their submissions were late.
Guinea-Bissau has long been one of the world’s most coup-prone nations, with four successful coups and several failed attempts since independence in 1974. Political instability has also made the country a key transit hub for cocaine smuggling between South America and Europe.
Wednesday’s unrest spread beyond the palace. The National Electoral Commission’s headquarters was attacked by unidentified armed men, an official told AFP. The government had deployed more than 6,700 security personnel, including ECOWAS Stabilisation Forces, to secure the polls and their aftermath.
The crisis follows years of political friction. Embalo dissolved the opposition-dominated legislature in 2023 and has ruled by decree ever since. The opposition argues that his presidential mandate expired on February 27—five years after his 2020 inauguration—accusing him of “manipulating” the 2025 elections to retain power.
With the military now firmly in control and no clarity on the president’s status, Guinea-Bissau faces yet another uncertain chapter in its long, turbulent political history.