Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
Reuters
—
General Horta Ntana Mann was sworn in as interim president of Guinea-Bissau on Thursday, a day after military officers announced he had ousted the country’s president, according to a military statement.
Describing itself as the “Supreme Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” the officers said in a televised statement Wednesday that they had ousted President Umaro Sissoko Embalo amid recent unrest in the coup-ridden country.
Preliminary results were expected on Thursday in the race between Mr. Embalo and Fernando Diaz, a 47-year-old political newcomer who has emerged as Mr. Embalo’s front-runner to govern the West African province, a center of cocaine trafficking.
Guinea-Bissau’s opposition coalition on Thursday called on authorities to allow the results of Sunday’s presidential election to be announced.
“There is no reason to interrupt the democratic process. Mr. Díaz calls for these results to be made public,” the coalition supporting Mr. Díaz said in a statement sent to Reuters.
“We want the military officers who claim to have taken power to keep democracy alive, to let the electoral commission do its job, and to respect the constitution. They are really the guarantors of peace.”
The capital Bissau was mostly quiet on Thursday, with soldiers still on the streets and many residents staying indoors after a curfew was lifted. Businesses and banks were shut down.
A spokesperson for the election commission told Reuters that soldiers had closed its offices and there were no plans to announce results on Thursday.
Ahead of Wednesday’s military announcement, gunshots rang out in the capital for about an hour near the election commission headquarters and the presidential palace, witnesses said.
Embalo called French media on Thursday to say he had been fired and was missing. Officers did not say whether they took Embarro into custody.
In a video statement Wednesday night, Diaz accused Embalo of staging a “fake coup attempt” to derail the election out of fear of losing.
In a statement to Reuters, the coalition supporting Diaz called for the release of former prime minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, who lost to Embalo in the 2019 general election. He was taken into custody on Wednesday, relatives and security sources said.
Guinea-Bissau is a small coastal country located between Senegal and Guinea and is a notorious hub for cocaine destined for Europe.
Under Embalo, the cocaine trade appears to be booming, with an August report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime saying it could be more lucrative than ever.
The country was rocked by at least nine coups and attempted coups between 1974, when it gained independence from Portugal, and 2020, when Embalo became president.
Diaz campaigned on a promise to end military interference in politics.
Embalo said he survived three coup attempts during his time in office. His critics accuse him of creating a crisis as a pretext for repression.
Election observers from the African Union and West African region ECOWAS expressed “deep concern” at the coup announcement in a joint statement on Wednesday night, saying those responsible for the election process had been arrested and calling for their immediate release.
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who was monitoring the vote as part of the West African Elders Forum, could not be reached on Thursday, ECOWAS spokesman Joel Ahofoji told Reuters.
“I’m not saying he (Goodluck Jonathan) and others are trapped in Guinea-Bissau, but we don’t know where he is,” Ahofoji said.
Liberian Sen. Edwin Snowe, who was part of the parliamentary observer mission, told Reuters he left the country on Tuesday but has not been able to contact other observers still on the ground since Wednesday.
“We do not intend for the ECOWAS military team to intervene,” he told Reuters. “What we are doing now is promoting dialogue and returning to democracy.”
