Guinea-Bissau soldiers install general as junta leader, formalizing coup after election

Guinea-Bissau’s military has formally announced Gen. Horta Inta-A as the country’s new junta leader, solidifying a forceful takeover that began in the aftermath of Sunday’s presidential election. Appearing on state television, the armed forces declared that Inta-A — previously the army’s chief of staff and a close ally of ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embaló — will head a military government overseeing a one-year transition period. Inta-A said the intervention was triggered by what he called the failure of political leaders to stabilize the country’s worsening political climate. His remarks came as uncertainty deepened around the fate of Embaló, who claimed in a French media interview that he had been arrested when gunfire erupted near the presidential palace. His whereabouts on Thursday remained unknown.

Opposition candidate Fernando Dias sharply rejected the military’s narrative, accusing Embaló of staging the coup himself to avoid admitting defeat in a closely fought election. Dias and other opposition figures alleged that the takeover was orchestrated to block the release of official results, which were expected Thursday. Despite calls from the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde and from Dias to protest the coup and demand the publication of election results, the capital Bissau appeared calm Thursday morning, with businesses reopening and public transit operating normally. Guinea-Bissau has long been plagued by political instability.

Since gaining independence from Portugal over 50 years ago, the country has endured numerous coups and attempted coups — including one as recently as October. The nation of 2.2 million is also a major transit point for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a factor analysts say continues to feed its chronic turbulence. The latest upheaval follows a tense election in which both Embaló, 53, and Dias, 47, claimed victory. Reports of gunfire in Bissau, soldiers appearing on state television, and conflicting accounts of arrests have created a scene increasingly familiar across West Africa, where democratic systems have been battered by contested elections and military intervention.

Dias, who denied rumours of his arrest by saying he had escaped “through a backdoor,” vowed to resist the military takeover. He accused Embaló of refusing to accept electoral defeat and using a “false coup d’état” to cling to power. The election had already been viewed as a pivotal test for Guinea-Bissau, as opposition parties maintained that Embaló’s mandate had expired long before voters went to the polls.