Embalo

Senegal’s Foreign Ministry says Umaro Sissoco Embalo arrived in the country a day after he was deposed in a military coup.

Guinea-Bissau’s deposed president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has arrived in Senegal, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed, a day after a group of military officers in Guinea-Bissau seized power in a coup.

Senegal’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday night that Embalo had arrived in Senegal after authorities engaged with actors in Guinea-Bissau to try to secure his release.

Embalo reached Senegal on board an aircraft chartered by the Senegalese government, it said.

“The government of the Republic of Senegal reaffirms its readiness to work alongside ECOWAS, the African Union and all relevant partners, with a view to supporting dialogue, stability and the rapid restoration of constitutional order and democratic legitimacy in this brotherly nation,” the statement said.

Embalo was deposed on Wednesday after military officers announced they had seized “total control” of Guinea-Bissau ahead of the expected release of presidential election results in the West African nation.

Embalo had been vying for re-election against his main challenger, Fernando Dias. Both had declared victory ahead of the release of the provisional results.

But the main opposition PAIGC party was barred from presenting a presidential candidate, raising criticism from civil society groups, which said the election was illegitimate.

Dubbing themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order”, the military officers read out a statement on television on Wednesday, declaring that they had ordered the immediate suspension of the electoral process “until further notice”.

They also ordered the closure of Guinea-Bissau’s borders and an overnight curfew.

On Thursday, General Horta Inta-A was sworn in as the country’s transitional president, defending the military takeover by saying that there had been “sufficient [evidence] to justify the operation”.

But the coup – one of several to hit Guinea-Bissau since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1974 – has spurred widespread concern, including from regional bodies.

The chairperson of the African Union Commission condemned the situation earlier on Thursday, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Embalo and all other detained officials.

Mahmoud Ali Youssouf also urged “all parties to exercise the utmost restraint in order to prevent any further deterioration of the situation”.

Conflicting claims come before the release of official results by the country’s electoral commission.

The two leading candidates in Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election – incumbent Umaro Sissoco Embalo and main challenger Fernando Dias – have both declared victory before the release of official results.

Both campaigns had claimed on Monday that their contender exceeded the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright, eliminating the need for a run-off.

“We have won the presidential race. We will not have a second round,” Dias told supporters in the capital, Bissau, adding that people were “tired” and wanted change.

Hours later, Embalo’s campaign spokesperson Oscar Barbosa also claimed the president had won outright, insisting there would be no run-off and calling on rivals to avoid making claims that undermine the electoral process.

There was no immediate comment by the National Electoral Commission, which is expected to announce provisional results on Thursday, regarding the conflicting claims.

Twelve candidates competed in Sunday’s poll that saw a turnout of more than 65 percent.

The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), the movement that led the fight against Portuguese colonial rule, was barred from fielding a candidate for the first time.

The party endorsed Dias, boosting his campaign, especially after former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, the PAIGC leader, backed him. The 47-year-old is standing with the Party for Social Renewal.

Embalo, 53, is a former army general who served as prime minister from 2016 to 2018. He is seeking to become Guinea-Bissau’s first president in 30 years to win a second term.

Opposition parties argue that Embalo’s mandate should have ended earlier this year. The Supreme Court ruled that his term should run until early September, but the election was pushed back to November.

Embalo dissolved parliament, which was controlled by the opposition after the 2019 and 2023 legislative elections, and has not allowed it to sit since December 2023.

Guinea-Bissau has experienced repeated coups and attempted coups since its independence more than 50 years ago, and remains one of the world’s poorest countries, with half the population living in poverty, according to the World Bank.

More than 200 international observers were in the country to monitor the electoral process, including from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, the African Union and the community of Portuguese-speaking countries.