On 26 November 2025, a group of senior officers in the armed forces of Guinea‑Bissau announced they had seized power, declaring that they had deposed Umaro Sissoco Embaló and taken “total control” of the country. In a televised statement read out at army headquarters and broadcast on state television, the military said it had formed “the High Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” which would govern until further notice.
In their announcement, the officers declared the immediate suspension of the electoral process, the closure of all borders, a curfew, and a shutdown of media activity. The coup came only three days after contested presidential and legislative elections — in which both Embaló and his main challenger, Fernando Dias da Costa, claimed victory before official results were announced.
Spokesperson Dinis N’Tchama of the military high command justified the takeover by alleging they had uncovered “an ongoing plan” to manipulate the vote results, involving national politicians, a drug lord, and domestic and foreign nationals.
N’Tchama stated:
“The High Military Command for the reestablishment of national and public order decides to immediately depose the President of the Republic … to suspend, until new orders, all of the institutions of the Republic of Guinea‑Bissau.”
Earlier on Wednesday, heavy gunfire erupted near key government sites — the headquarters of the election commission, the presidential palace and the interior ministry — triggering panic among residents. Witnesses described roads leading to the palace being quickly blocked by armed and masked soldiers.
In response, Embaló told French media he had been arrested — but declared he was not harmed. He described the events as a coup. With the political process abruptly stopped and key institutions closed or seized, Guinea‑Bissau now faces significant uncertainty, as the military consolidates control and the fate of democracy there hangs in the balance.
