News|ElectionsGuinea-Bissau military appoints general as transition president after coupA group of military officers had claimed ‘total control’ of the country, a day after two leading candidates in a tightly contested presidential election each declared victory.
The military in Guinea-Bissau has appointed a general as the country’s new leader for one year, a day after staging a coup to seize power and arresting the president of the West African nation as contentious election results were imminent.
The military in Guinea-Bissau has appointed a general as the country’s new leader for one year, a day after staging a coup to seize power and arresting the president of the West African nation as contentious election results were imminent.
“I have just been sworn in to lead the High Command,” General Horta Nta Na Man declared after taking the oath of office in a ceremony at the military’s headquarters on Thursday, AFP journalists observed.
Dozens of heavily armed soldiers were deployed at the scene.
On Wednesday, a day after two leading candidates in a tightly contested presidential election each declared victory , a group of military officers claimed “total control” of the country.
Calling themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order”, the officers read out a statement on television, declaring that they had ordered the immediate suspension of the electoral process “until further notice”.
They ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in the latest episode of unrest in the coup-prone country.
Provisional results were expected to be announced in the race between Embalo and Fernando Dias, a political newcomer who had emerged as the top challenger to the incumbent to run the country, which is a hub for cocaine trafficking.
On Wednesday, a day after two leading candidates in a tightly contested presidential election each declared victory , a group of military officers claimed “total control” of the country.
The capital, Bissau, was mostly quiet on Thursday, with soldiers patrolling the streets and many residents staying indoors even after the overnight curfew was lifted. Businesses and banks were closed.
The military had also ordered the closure of all land, air and sea borders.
Advertisement The takeover announcment came shortly after sustained gunfire was heard near the election commission’s headquarters, the presidential palace and the Ministry of the Interior in the capital, Bissau on Wednesday.
“I have been deposed,” Embalo told French broadcaster France24 in a phone call on Wednesday, adding that he was “currently at the general staff headquarters”.
Reporting from neighbouring Senegal that afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reported that Embalo was under arrest.
The head of the main opposition PAIGC party, Domingos Simoes Pereira, has also been arrested, Haque said. “As well, we’ve just heard that the military is trying to cut off the Internet. There’s a curfew in place.”
He added that the army officer leading the coup, Denis N’Canha, served as the head of the presidential guard. “The man supposed to protect the president himself has put the president under arrest,” Haque said.
Meanwhile, West Africa’s ECOWAS and African Union observers expressed concern over the military takeover in Guinea-Bissau, according to a joint statement issued by the organisations.
“It’s regrettable that this [coup] announcement came at a time when the missions had just concluded meeting with the two leading presidential candidates, who assured us of their willingness to accept the will of the people,” the observers said on Wednesday.
Based on reporting by Al Jazeera.
