A military coup unfolded in Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday, November 26, as a group of officers announced they had seized control of the country and suspended the electoral process. This dramatic development occurred amidst reports that President Umaro Sissoco Embaló had been arrested, just days after the nation held its presidential election on Sunday, November 23, with results initially expected on Thursday, November 27. Gunfire erupted in the capital, Bissau, preceding the takeover.

Government sources confirmed President Embaló's detention, with the President himself declaring in a phone interview, "I have been deposed." Also reportedly arrested were his main challenger, Fernando Dias, former Prime Minister Domingos Pereira (who had supported Dias's candidacy), Interior Minister Botché Candé, Army Chief Gen. Biague Na Ntan, and his deputy, Gen. Mamadou Touré. The military officers, appearing on state television, declared their actions were intended to thwart an alleged plot by unnamed politicians, purportedly backed by a "well-known drug baron," aimed at destabilizing the country.

Under the banner of the "High Military Command for the Restoration of Order," led by General Denis N’Canha, head of the military household at the presidential palace, the coup leaders immediately closed the country's land, air, and sea borders and imposed a nighttime curfew. Checkpoints were rapidly established across Bissau, leading to deserted streets as residents fled seeking safety amid intensifying gunfire. Hundreds of foreign observers, including Jonathan, head of the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) election mission, were left stranded and unable to depart the country.

Guinea-Bissau, a nation situated between Senegal and Guinea, has a long and troubled history of political instability. Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, it has endured chronic military interference, experiencing at least nine coups or attempted coups in the past five decades. The country is also notorious as a major drug-trafficking hub, with its remote coastline and uninhabited islands making it a strategic transit point for cocaine from Latin America to Europe, earning it the label of a "narco-state" from the United Nations. Furthermore, Guinea-Bissau remains one of the world’s poorest nations, with a population exceeding two million.

The coup drew swift and forceful international condemnation. The African Union and ECOWAS election observation missions issued a joint statement expressing deep concern, noting that both leading candidates had pledged to respect the peaceful election results. Ghana’s government, in a strongly worded statement on November 26, condemned the military takeover as a "direct assault on democracy" and a dangerous attempt to overturn the will of the people. Ghana called for the immediate restoration of constitutional order, insisting that electoral disputes be resolved through legal channels and demanding protection for civilians and the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission. Portugal, Guinea-Bissau’s former colonial power, also urged an immediate return to constitutional rule and an avoidance of violence.

Security expert Prof Kwesi Aning expressed skepticism regarding ECOWAS's capacity to resolve the ongoing crisis, citing its past failures. Speaking on Joy FM, he warned that the coup adds to deteriorating democracy in the bloc and could lead to deepening instability across West Africa. Prof Aning attributed such military interventions to poor political management, corruption, and the struggles of citizens to access basic social amenities, questioning the usefulness of democracy under such conditions and cautioning that this might not be the last coup d'état in the region.

The presidential election itself had seen both President Embaló and Fernando Dias claiming victory before official results were announced. Embaló, 53, had hoped to become the first leader in three decades to secure a second consecutive mandate, though his legitimacy had been contested by the opposition, who maintained his term officially expired in February.