In Guinea-Bissau, the head of the Presidential Military Directorate, Denis N’Kanya, in a statement made together with a group of officers, announced the complete seizure of power in the country.
A group of military officers led by the head of the Presidential Military Directorate, N’Kanya, held a press conference at the General Staff.
The group, which called itself the “High Military Command to Restore Order”, announced that it had taken control of the entire the country.
The statement notes that decisions have been made to suspend the ongoing electoral process and close the country’s borders.
Meanwhile, the French news site Jeune Afrique published a message that it was possible to contact President Oumaro Sissoko Embalo.
According to this information, Embalo is being held in his office and the commander of the ground forces is behind these actions.
Both candidates announced their victory
In the parliamentary and presidential elections held on November 23 in Guinea-Bissau, Embalo, even before the official results were announced, said that, according to his team’s calculations, he had won 65% of the vote.
Embalo’s main rival, independent candidate Fernando Diaz da Costa, also declared his victory in the elections.
Umaro Sissoko Embalo was accused of obstruction the candidacy of the leader of the main opposition party, Domingos Simões Pereira.
The leader of one of the most important political parties in the country, the Party for African Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Pereira, who was not included in the list of candidates, announced his support for Díaz da Costa.
In the 2019 presidential elections in Guinea-Bissau, both Embalu and Pereira announced their victory, leading to a political crisis that lasted several months.
One of the poorest countries in the world
Guinea-Bissau, located in West Africa and gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, has so far experienced at least 12 coups or attempted coups.
Guinea-Bissau, bordered on the south by Guinea and on the north by Senegal is one of the poorest countries in the world.
This small country on the Atlantic coast plays an important role in the supply of Latin American drugs to Europe.
Due to its geographical location and legal gaps, Guinea-Bissau is a very convenient route for drug traffickers, which is why it is also called a “narco-state”.
Drugs sent from South America directly to Guinea-Bissau or neighboring countries Here they are distributed and shipped to the USA and Europe.