Khaberni - The army in Guinea Bissau appointed Major General Horta Inta as the transitional president of the country on Thursday evening, following the seizure of power and overthrow of the civilian leadership before the announcement of the election results conducted early in the week.
Inta appeared in military uniform, surrounded by other military officials, in his first public appearance as president in a ceremony broadcast on state television yesterday.
He stated that the coup was necessary to thwart a plot by "drug traffickers to seize Guinean democracy," noting that the transitional period would last one year and would begin immediately.
Calm prevailed in the center of the capital Bissau with soldiers deployed on the streets and many residents staying home even after the curfew was lifted at night, with companies and banks shutting their doors.
In a later swearing-in ceremony yesterday, Major General Tomas Djassi was appointed as the chief of army staff.
Meanwhile, the Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the ousted president of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, arrived in Senegal on a private plane, following intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The officers – referring to themselves as "the Supreme Military Command for the Restoration of Order" – stated in a broadcast on television the day before yesterday, Wednesday, that they had overthrown Embalo in response to a destabilization plan involving politicians and major drug traffickers.
This marks the ninth coup in West and Central Africa in the past five years, continuing the instability in Guinea Bissau, which is notoriously a hub for cocaine trafficking and has a long history of military interventions in politics.
The power grab occurred just a day before the preliminary results were expected to be announced between Embalo and newcomer to the political scene, 47-year-old Fernando Dias, who has emerged as Embalo's strongest competitor for the presidency.
Before the announcement of the coup, gunfire was heard in the capital Bissau for about an hour near the electoral commission headquarters and the presidential palace.
Embalo contacted French media to inform them of his dismissal, and the army announced that Embalo and other senior officials "are under the control of the Supreme Military Command."
Mahmoud Ali Yousef, Chairman of the African Union Commission, condemned the coup in a statement and called for the immediate and unconditional release of Embalo "and all detained officials."
The leaders of the ECOWAS states also condemned the coup in a post on the X platform and held a video meeting later to discuss the situation.
The European Union stated that constitutional order must be restored and the vote counting allowed to proceed.
