On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, military officers in Guinea-Bissau effectively dissolved the government and ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embaló just hours before official election results were expected.
The capital, Bissau, was rocked by heavy gunfire as elite units of the presidential guard detained the head of state and several key ministers. Shortly after, Brigadier General Dinis Incanha appeared on state television to declare the formation of the “High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order,” citing a need to prevent a purported plot by domestic politicians and international drug traffickers to manipulate the vote.
The takeover has plunged the West African “narco-state” into deeper uncertainty, coming on the heels of the November 23 presidential election where both Embaló and opposition leader Fernando Dias had already claimed victory.
Following the coup, President Embaló was allowed to leave for Senegal and has since relocated to the Republic of the Congo. In his absence, the military installed General Horta Inta-A Na Man as transitional president and appointed a new cabinet largely comprised of Embaló’s former associates. This move has led opposition groups to label the event a “sham coup” orchestrated by the former president to maintain control while bypassing the democratic will of the people.
The international response has been swift but faces significant hurdles on the ground. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Guinea-Bissau and sent a high-level mediation team, led by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, to demand a return to constitutional rule.
Meanwhile, the main opposition leader, Fernando Dias, has sought protection at the Nigerian embassy in Bissau following reports of an imminent threat to his life. While the military has established a National Transitional Council to oversee a one-year transition, regional leaders and international partners like the UK and France continue to press for the immediate publication of the original election results and the release of all political prisoners.
