On November 26, 2025, the fragile calm of Guinea-Bissau shattered once again as a group of military officers seized control of the country, suspending the presidential electoral process, arresting key political figures, and plunging the West African nation into its latest crisis. The move came just one day after both leading presidential candidates—incumbent Umaro Sissoco Embalo and challenger Fernando Dias—had preemptively declared victory in a tense and disputed vote whose results were never officially released. The coup, led by General Denis N’Canha, commander of the presidential guard, quickly drew international condemnation and underscored the region’s ongoing struggle with military intervention and democratic backsliding.
According to reporting by Culture Custodian and BBC, the takeover was announced on state television by officers calling themselves the "High Military Command for the Restoration of Order." They declared the suspension of the electoral process "until further notice," the closure of all national borders, and the imposition of an overnight curfew. The statement followed hours of gunfire near key government sites in Bissau, including the presidential palace and the Ministry of the Interior, sending residents fleeing for cover as uncertainty gripped the capital.
President Embalo and Domingos Simoes Pereira, head of the main opposition PAIGC party—who had been barred from contesting the election—were both arrested. The coup’s leader, General N’Canha, was supposed to be the president’s protector, a fact that has raised eyebrows in a country where shifting loyalties within the security ranks are nothing new. Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has witnessed at least nine coups or attempted coups, with the military playing a persistent, often destabilizing, role in national politics. Embalo himself survived previous coup attempts in December 2023 and October 2025.
The immediate backdrop to this latest upheaval was a fiercely contested presidential election held on November 23, 2025. Both Embalo and Dias, the two main contenders, claimed victory ahead of the official results—expected on November 28—fueling confusion and raising doubts about the vote’s legitimacy. Civil society groups criticized the process, noting that the PAIGC, the country’s main opposition party, had been barred from presenting a candidate. The legitimacy of Embalo’s mandate was already under dispute, with the opposition insisting his term expired in February and the Supreme Court maintaining it would end in September.
International observers, including representatives from ECOWAS, the African Union, and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, expressed alarm at the military’s actions. In a joint statement, they described the coup as "regrettable," highlighting that both leading candidates had previously assured them of their willingness to accept the election’s outcome. They called for the immediate release of all detained officials and urged the armed forces to allow the electoral process to reach its conclusion. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres echoed these concerns, appealing for restraint and respect for the rule of law, while Portugal’s foreign ministry urged all parties to avoid "institutional or civic violence" and emphasized that state institutions must be allowed to function.
On November 27, Embalo was released and flown to Senegal on a plane chartered by the Senegalese government, as confirmed by Senegal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry reiterated its readiness to work alongside ECOWAS, the African Union, and other partners to support dialogue, stability, and the rapid restoration of constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau. Meanwhile, General Horta Inta-A was sworn in as the country’s transitional president, defending the military takeover by claiming there was "sufficient evidence to justify the operation." The African Union Commission’s chairperson condemned the situation, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all detained officials and urging all parties to exercise restraint to prevent further deterioration.
The chaos also affected international observers. Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who was in Guinea-Bissau as part of a joint African Union, ECOWAS, and West African Elders Forum mission to monitor the election, found himself stranded as the coup unfolded. According to BBC News Pidgin, Jonathan and his team were eventually evacuated aboard an Ivorian presidential jet, arriving safely in Abuja on November 27. Nigeria’s House of Representatives called on the government to use all diplomatic efforts to ensure Jonathan’s safe return and to assist other Nigerians still in the country.
The military, in its televised statement, justified the coup by claiming it had acted to thwart a plot by unnamed politicians—allegedly supported by a well-known drug baron—to destabilize the nation. Guinea-Bissau’s reputation as a "narco-state" is well-documented, with the United Nations identifying it as a key transit point for cocaine smuggled from Latin America to Europe. The country’s porous coastline and numerous uninhabited islands have long made it a haven for traffickers, fostering an environment where the military wields significant influence and political instability is the norm.
This latest power grab adds Guinea-Bissau to a growing list of West African nations—now numbering seven as of late 2025—governed by military juntas. Countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger remain under military rule, with each citing corruption, insecurity, or political paralysis as justification for their interventions. Yet, as analysts cited by Culture Custodian point out, coups rarely resolve underlying issues and often deepen the cycle of instability, undermining fragile democratic institutions.
The international community’s response has been swift but, so far, largely rhetorical. ECOWAS, the African Union, and the United Nations have all condemned the coup and called for the restoration of constitutional order, but decisive external intervention appears unlikely. With economic pressures mounting across the region and goodwill from Western governments waning, the responsibility for safeguarding democracy seems to rest squarely on the shoulders of African nations themselves.
For Guinea-Bissau, the immediate priority is the restoration of constitutional order and clarity about the fate of its detained leaders. But the broader question remains: can West Africa halt the slide toward normalized military rule before democracy becomes a casualty of chronic instability? As the dust settles in Bissau, the answer may set the tone for the region’s political future.
