Guinea-Bissau’s military installed Major-General Horta Inta-a of the self-styled “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” as a transitional president on Thursday a day after the overthrow of the civilian government of Umaro Sissoco Embalo who was evacuated to Senegal aboard a special flight following an intervention by the West African regional bloc.
The self-styled “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order” announced in a televised statement on Wednesday that they had seized power from Embalo a day before provisional results were due to be announced in the race between Embalo and Fernando Dias, a 47-year-old political newcomer who had emerged as Embalo’s top challenger in the presidential vote.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló who defeated the then incumbent José Mário vaz in 2019 was seeking his second and last term as the president of Guinea Bissau before being overthrown by the military.
They Military said the move came in response to a destabilisation plan involving politicians and drug barons, without going into more detail.
Wearing a military uniform and flanked by other military officials, Inta-a made his first public appearance as leader at a ceremony broadcast Thursday on state television. He said the coup was necessary to stave off a plot by “narcotraffickers” to “capture Guinean democracy” and said the transition would last one year, beginning immediately.
At a swearing-in ceremony later on Thursday, he named Major-General Tomas Djassi as army chief of staff.
Following the coup detat, it remains to be seen whether ECOWAS, a 15 Member regional block where Guinea Bissau has been a member since it’s inception in 1975 whose responsibility includes but not limited to Peace and Security will broker a peace deal between the ousted president and the military leaders something the block has failed to do in other West African countries like Guinea Cornakry where military leaders have remained in charge and formed their own block the Alliance of Sahel States after quitting ECOWAS.
