The officers, who identified themselves as the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” read out a statement on Wednesday that stated they had ordered the immediate suspension of the electoral process “until further notice.”
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Additionally, they mandated an overnight curfew and the closure of all land, air, and sea borders.
The election commission’s headquarters, the presidential palace, and the Bissau-based Ministry of Interior were all immediately opened to the public shortly after sustained gunfire was earmarked.
The West African nation’s presidential election results, in which President Umaro Sisoco Embalo and his main rival Fernando Dias faced off, were anticipated to be announced on Thursday.
Embalo, who added that he was “currently at the general staff headquarters,” was deposed during a phone call with French broadcaster France24.
Embalo was reportedly under arrest, according to Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, who was a reporter from neighboring Senegal on Wednesday afternoon.
According to Haque, Domingos Simoes Pereira, the head of the main opposition party PAIGC, has also been detained. Additionally, we just learned that the military is attempting to shut down the Internet. There is a curfew in place.
He added that Denis N’Canha, an army officer in charge of the coup, was the president’s guard’s leader. According to Haque, “the man who was supposed to protect the president has arrested him.”
Disputed vote
Since gaining its independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has gone through numerous coups and attempted coups.
Civil society organizations and other observers questioned the legitimacy of this week’s election after the PAIGC was prohibited from running for president, according to Haque.
The military intervened because there was a deadlock in the race to win this week’s election, he said.
Embalo and Dias already had victories, but their claims had not been disproven.
Embalo’s campaign spokesman Oscar Barbosa stated to the AFP news agency on Tuesday that there won’t be a second round, adding that the president “will have a second mandate.”
Dias also declared victory, saying, “This election has been won. In the first round, it was won.
calls for restraint
According to spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been closely monitoring the situation in Guinea-Bissau for the time being.
Dujarric urged “to all national stakeholders in Guinea Bissau to exercise restraint, exercise, and respect the rule of law,” according to Dujarric during a press conference in New York.
The secretary-general added that he will continue to watch closely the country’s current state.
The Portuguese government also urged all parties to abstain from “any act of institutional or civic violence.”
The state institutions in Guinea-Bissau must be allowed to continue operating, according to a statement.
Source: Aljazeera
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