Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has reportedly been arrested by soldiers in what he described as an attempted coup d’état, just days after a contentious presidential election.
The President told media outlets on Wednesday that he was detained in his office at the presidential villa around 13:00 local time. Eyewitnesses reported heavy gunfire surrounding the National Electoral Commission (CNE) headquarters in the capital, Bissau, where votes are counted.
The crisis emanated from the presidential election held on Sunday, November 23, 2025, where both the incumbent, President Embaló, and his main rival, opposition candidate Fernando Dias de Costa, prematurely claimed victory ahead of the official results due on Thursday.
The President claims to have won 65% of the vote, a figure disputed by the opposition. The exclusion of the main opposition party, PAIGC, from the race had already cast a shadow over the legitimacy of the election.
President Embaló dissolved parliament in 2022 after persistent clashes with lawmakers, ruling by decree in a move that alienated significant portions of the political class.
Reports indicate that the head of the armed forces, General Biaguê Na Ntan, was also detained alongside the President, but however, the President blamed the Army Chief of Staff for the coup.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, speaking to Jeune Afrique shortly after his detention, said;
I was arrested this Wednesday… at around 1 pm while I was in my office.
No force was used against me… This is a coup d’état
Journalists on the ground report being trapped in buildings as armed soldiers patrol the streets.
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