Guinea-Bissau army head elbows in

N’Tam’s putsch has quashed vote-count bickering, as the incumbent supposedly languishes under armed guard. But critics suspect a ruse, with even more shenanigans afoot.

Beret that order: Brigadier General Denis N’Canha conveys the crux of the coup’s plan. (Photo: Patrick Meinhardt/AFP)

General Horta N’Tam, the Soviet-trained boss of Guinea-Bissau’s army, was sworn in as the country’s new head of state on Thursday, a day after the military announced it had taken control of the country and arrested President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.

The coup aborted a bitter presidential contest in which both Embaló and his main challenger, Fernando Dias, claimed electoral victory.

On Wednesday, the day before official election results were due, gunfire erupted outside the presidential palace and near the offices of the interior ministry and electoral commission in Bissau. Military officers then announced that they were suspending the vote count “to prevent manipulation of the electoral process”.

Meanwhile, Embaló told a news agency that he had been deposed and was being detained. Dias, the electoral commissioner, and senior military officials were also reportedly arrested.

Embaló had the opportunity to become Guinea-Bissau’s first president in 30 years to secure a second consecutive term. He had already arguably overstayed his tenure, dissolving parliament in 2023 and repeatedly delaying elections.

During his tenure, Embaló claimed to have survived coup attempts on several occasions but critics accuse him of fabricating the crises to suppress dissent. Even the most recent coup is being read in some quarters as “simulated”.

Per the BBC, civil-society coalition Popular Front has alleged Embaló orchestrated the recent coup to block election results that might have been unfavourable.

This latest military takeover is Guinea-Bissau’s ninth coup or attempted coup since independence in 1974.