PNN – Guinea-Bissau’s army on Thursday appointed General Horta Horta Enta as the country’s interim president, a day after seizing power and before election results were announced.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network citing Al Jazeera, Enta made his first public appearance in military uniform alongside other army commanders in a ceremony broadcast on state TV. He said the coup was necessary to prevent a “drug traffickers’ conspiracy” against Guinea-Bissau’s democracy and that a one-year transitional period would begin immediately.
The capital, Bissau, remained relatively calm. Soldiers were deployed across the streets, and many residents stayed inside their homes even after the nighttime curfew was lifted. Businesses and banks were also closed. In a subsequent swearing-in ceremony, General Thomas Djassi was appointed chief of staff.
Senegal’s foreign ministry announced that the ousted president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, had arrived in Senegal on a special flight after mediation by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.
The coup leaders, calling themselves the “High Military Leadership for the Restoration of Order,” said in a televised statement that Embaló had been removed over an alleged plan to destabilize the country involving politicians and major drug traffickers.
This marks the ninth coup in West and Central Africa in the past five years, extending the cycle of instability in Guinea-Bissau, a country known as a hub for cocaine trafficking and long-standing military influence in politics.
The takeover occurred one day before the expected announcement of preliminary election results, which were predicted to show a tight race between Embaló and 47-year-old newcomer Fernando Dias, considered a strong challenger. About an hour of gunfire was heard near the electoral commission and the presidential palace shortly before the coup was announced.
Embaló confirmed his removal in calls with French media. The army said he and other senior officials were “under the control of the High Military Leadership.”
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, condemned the coup and called for the immediate and unconditional release of Embaló and all detained officials.
ECOWAS leaders also condemned the coup in a post on X and held an emergency online meeting to assess the situation. The European Union called for the restoration of constitutional order and the continuation of the vote-counting process.