By Violet Ikong

Guinea-Bissau is the latest African country to come under military rule, following the swearing-in of Gen. Horta Nta Na Man as transitional president on Thursday, Nov. 27. The takeover came a day after army officers announced they had assumed full control of the country.

The coup unfolded as citizens awaited the results of the presidential and legislative elections held on Nov. 23. Reports of gunfire in the capital, Bissau, emerged on Wednesday, when the officers – calling themselves the High Military Command for the Restoration of Order – took to state television to announce the immediate and indefinite suspension of the electoral process, citing efforts to stop unnamed politicians from destabilizing the country, allegedly with support from a prominent drug baron.

Meanwhile, ousted president Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who was seeking a second term, told reporters that he had been arrested in a coup led by the army chief of staff and now transitional president, Nta. Embaló was detained alongside his closest rival, Domingos Simões Pereira, with both claiming victory in the polls just a day before the army seized control.

Following the takeover, all air, land, and sea borders were closed, and an overnight curfew was imposed.

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Regional bodies respond

The African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and West African Elders Forum (WAEF) issued a joint statement expressing concern over the coup. They noted that the voting process had been peaceful.

“We express deep concern with the announcement of a coup d’état by the armed forces, while the nation was awaiting the announcement of the results. It’s regrettable that this announcement came at a time when our missions had just concluded meetings with the two leading presidential candidates, who assured us of their willingness to accept the will of the people,” the joint statement read.

The regional bodies called on the AU and ECOWAS to take measures to restore constitutional order, while condemning the arrest of top officials. “We urge the armed forces to immediately release the detained officials to allow the electoral process to proceed to its conclusion,” the statement said.

Observers representing the regional bodies in Guinea-Bissau included Goodluck Jonathan, former president of Nigeria and head of the WAEF; Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, head of the African Union election observation mission; and Issifu Baba Braimah Kamara, former president of Mozambique and head of the ECOWAS election observation mission.

 

A coup-prone nation

Since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced at least nine coups or attempted coups, making it one of West Africa’s most coup-prone countries. No president has ever completed two terms, a record Embaló had hoped to change.

From 2020, when Embaló first took office, until his removal, he reportedly survived three coup attempts before the successful takeover on November 26-27.

 

Africa and military rule

Although most African nations are largely democratic, at least seven countries on the continent – including Guinea-Bissau – are currently under military or junta control. West Africa alone accounts for five of these countries: Burkina Faso, Guinea (Conakry), Mali, Niger, and Guinea-Bissau. In October 2025, multiple media outlets reported a foiled coup attempt in Nigeria.

Madagascar, an island nation off the southeastern coast of Africa, and Gabon in Central Africa are also under military rule following coups in 2023 and 2025, respectively.

Nta is expected to rule for a one-year transition period, during which the country will aim to return to democratic governance.