Was the Coup in Guinea-Bissau a “Self-Coup”?

Guinea-Bissau’s political turmoil deepened this week as senior West African figures openly questioned whether the country’s latest military takeover was real or staged to block the release of election results.

President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was removed by soldiers on 26 November, just one day before authorities were due to announce the outcome of a presidential vote that saw a more than 65% turnout. The military says it acted to stop an alleged plot by unnamed politicians linked to a drug baron.

Senegal’s prime minister Ousmane Sonko and former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who led an observer mission to the country, said they believed the coup was a sham. Jonathan called it a “ceremonial coup” and questioned why Embaló himself phoned a French broadcaster to announce that he had been deposed. Sonko told lawmakers that what happened in Guinea-Bissau was a fabrication and demanded the immediate release of the results.

Embaló, who has not responded to the allegations, has previously faced accusations of using moments of crisis to silence dissent. In 2023 he dissolved parliament after what he said was another attempted coup, leaving the country without a legislature ever since. After his removal this week, he was flown to Senegal on a chartered military aircraft.

The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, a regional body, have suspended Guinea-Bissau over the takeover and urged the army to return to the barracks. Meanwhile, General Horta N’Tam has been installed as transitional president and has appointed former finance minister Ilídio Vieira Té as prime minister. Reactions on the streets of the capital, Bissau, have been mixed, with some residents expressing fear and frustration over renewed instability, while others say they hope the military can bring order and improve daily life.