Guinea-Bissau’s military named General Horta Nta Na Man as transitional president on Thursday, a day after troops toppled President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in the latest upheaval to rock the coup-prone West African nation.
The “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” announced on state television late Wednesday that it had removed Embalo, following a disputed election and hours of gunfire near the electoral commission and presidential palace in Bissau. Radio France Internationale reported the transition would last one year.
Embalo told French media he had been deposed and said his whereabouts were unknown on Thursday. Soldiers patrolled largely deserted streets in the capital, where shops and banks remained shut following an overnight curfew.
The takeover came hours before provisional results were expected in Sunday’s presidential vote, in which 47-year-old political newcomer Fernando Dias had emerged as Embalo’s main challenger. Dias accused Embalo of staging a “false coup attempt” to derail the process.
Dias’ coalition urged the release of detained election officials and demanded that results be published. Former prime minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, defeated by Embalo in 2019, was also detained on Wednesday, prompting protesters to be dispersed with tear gas.
Regional and African Union observers expressed “deep concern” and called for the immediate release of detained electoral officials. ECOWAS said it had lost contact with some observers, including former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who was in Bissau monitoring the vote.
“We don’t intend for the ECOWAS military team to intervene,” Liberian senator and observer Edwin Snowe told Reuters. “What we are doing now is to encourage dialogue and a return to democracy.”
