Guinea-Bissau: General Horta Nta Na Man Sworn In As President After Coup

Guinea-Bissau’s military command on Thursday named General Horta Nta Na Man as the country’s new transitional president, formalizing a forceful takeover of power less than 24 hours after President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was deposed and all constitutional institutions were suspended.

​Gen. Nta Na Man was sworn in shortly after the army’s “High Military Command for the reestablishment of national and public order” made the announcement in the capital, Bissau. The move escalates a period of acute political volatility that followed Sunday’s tightly contested presidential election.

​The military justified the intervention with claims of an active plot to undermine the state, echoing a familiar narrative in the coup-prone West African nation. In a statement read on state television, military spokesperson Dinis N’Tchama alleged the forces acted in response to the “discovery of an ongoing plan” aimed at destabilizing the country and attempting to “manipulate electoral results.”

​N’Tchama further asserted that the alleged “scheme was set up by some national politicians with the participation of a well-known drug lord, and domestic and foreign nationals.” The military immediately suspended the electoral process, imposed a curfew, and sealed the country’s borders.

​The deposed leader, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, confirmed his arrest to French media during the unfolding events on Wednesday, stating: “I have been deposed,” while maintaining he “was not subjected to violence.”

​The coup drew swift and sharp international condemnation. The African Union (AU) and the regional bloc ECOWAS issued a joint statement denouncing the action as a “blatant attempt to disrupt the democratic process.” Both bodies called for an immediate return to “constitutional order” and the release of detained election officials.