KEY POINTS

• Guinea-Bissau military takeover halts election results.
• AU and ECOWAS demand restoration of constitutional order.
• Observers warn Guinea-Bissau military takeover threatens democracy.

Election observation missions from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the West African Elders Forum have condemned the halt in releasing Guinea-Bissau’s presidential and legislative results and the subsequent military takeover.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the missions described the intervention as a direct attempt to derail the country’s democratic process. The statement was signed by Filipe Nyusi of the AU mission, Issifu Kamara of ECOWAS and former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who led the West African Elders Forum.

The group urged AU and ECOWAS authorities to take swift action to restore constitutional rule, stressing that the military’s move undermined the gains achieved during the electoral period.

The missions said the announcement came shortly after they met the two leading candidates incumbent Umaro Embalo and opposition contender Fernando Dias who pledged to respect the final results.

Regional bodies seek calm amid Guinea-Bissau military takeover

Tension escalated on Thursday as Guinea-Bissau awaited official results from the weekend election. Military officers declared they had seized “total control” of the country, suspended the electoral process and closed national borders. The announcement followed heavy gunfire near the presidential palace and the takeover of surrounding roads by uniformed soldiers.

General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, told journalists that a joint command of the armed forces had assumed leadership pending further notice. Seated at a table and flanked by armed soldiers, he claimed the military had uncovered a plot involving drug traffickers seeking to disrupt the constitutional order by bringing weapons into the country. N’Canha announced a full halt to election activities, the suspension of all media programming and the imposition of a nationwide curfew.

Furthermore, in their statement, AU and ECOWAS observers expressed alarm at the arrests of senior electoral officials and demanded their immediate release to complete the vote tabulation process. They urged citizens to remain calm and reaffirmed their support for Guinea-Bissau’s democratic path during what they described as a highly sensitive moment.

The country, long marked by political instability, has recorded four coups and several failed attempts since independence.