By ASSANA SAMBU and MARK BANCHEREAU Associated Press
BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) — Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau appeared on state television Wednesday saying they have seized power in the country, following reports of gunshots near the presidential palace, three days after national elections. The president told French media he had been deposed and arrested.
It was the latest of several coups in recent years in West Africa.
“The High Military Command for the reestablishment of national and public order decides to immediately depose the president of the republic, to suspend, until new orders, all of the institutions of the republic of Guinea-Bissau,” spokesperson Dinis N’Tchama said in a statement.
He said they acted in response to the “discovery of an ongoing plan” that he said aimed to destabilize the country by attempting to “manipulate electoral results.”
The “scheme was set up by some national politicians with the participation of a well-known drug lord, and domestic and foreign nationals,” N’Tchama asserted, and gave no details.
The soldiers said they were immediately suspending the electoral process and the activities of media outlets, as well as closing all borders.
Guinea-Bissau has seen four coups and numerous attempted ones since independence, including one reported last month. The country also has emerged as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe.
The presidential and legislative elections were held Sunday. Incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa each claimed victory Tuesday, even though official provisional results were not expected until Thursday.
Gunfire was heard midday Wednesday near the presidential palace. An Associated Press journalist saw roads leading to the palace closed off, with checkpoints manned by heavily armed and masked soldiers.
An official from the presidential palace said a group of armed men tried to attack the building, leading to an exchange of gunfire with guards. Another official from the Interior Ministry said they also heard gunshots near the National Electoral Commission nearby. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.
A key member of an international election observer group said the election commission chief was arrested and the commission office was sealed off by the military.
“The president has been speaking to people saying he’s being held by the military,” the observer group staffer told the AP. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.
French news outlet Jeune Afrique quoted Embaló as saying he was arrested in what he called a coup led by the army chief of staff. He said he was not subjected to violence.
“I have been deposed,” Embaló told French television network France 24.
Embaló had faced a legitimacy crisis, with the opposition saying his tenure had long expired and that they did not recognize him as president.
Guinea-Bissau’s constitution sets the presidential term at five years. Embaló first came to power in February 2020. The opposition says his term should have ended on Feb. 27 of this year, but the Supreme Court ruled it should run until Sept. 4.
The presidential election, however, was delayed until this month.
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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.