GUINEA-Bissau’s electoral commission has announced that it could not conclude the November 23 presidential election after armed men stormed its offices and took away ballots and tally sheets.
A senior official of the commission, Idrissa Djalo revealed this in a statement on Tuesday, December 2.
“We are not in material and logistic conditions to follow (through with) the electoral process,” Djalo said.
The ICIR reported that Army officers in the West African country seized power on November 26, a day before the electoral commission was due to announce the results of the contested election.
The head of the military in the office of the president, Denis N’Canha, a Brigadier General, flanked by armed soldiers, told journalists that a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces, was taking over the leadership of the country until further notice”.
The officers halted the country’s electoral process and shut the nation’s borders, three days after Guinea-Bissau held its legislative and presidential elections.
The coup took place a few hours after eyewitnesses said gunfire erupted near the headquarters of the election commission, as well as close to the Presidential Palace and the Interior Ministry.
The gunfire lasted for about an hour but stopped at about 1400 GMT. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shootings. There was a heavy military presence outside the presidential palace.
The ICIR reported that Guinea Bissau held presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, November 23, in which the incumbent President Umaro Embalo sought to become the first president in three decades to win a re-election.
Guinea-Bissau, a small coastal nation between Senegal and Guinea, with about two million people, saw at least nine coups between 1974, when it gained independence from Portugal, and 2020, when Embalo took over power.
In separate statements, the Election observers from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Nigerian government expressed deep concern over the situation in the country and condemned the coup as unacceptable.
They also called on the military to ensure the nation returns swiftly to democratic governance.
Nigeria former President Goodluck Jonathan was among leading observers for the country. He said Embaló orchestrated the coup to thwart the country’s democracy.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.