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Guinea-Bissau Coup Destroys Vote Records and Halts Presidential Election

Guinea-Bissau's electoral commission says it cannot finish the Nov. 23 presidential vote after armed assailants seized ballots, tally sheets and staff computers and destroyed the server holding provisional results. The military seized power on Nov. 26 and Major-General Horta Inta-A was sworn in on Nov. 27, imposing bans on demonstrations and strikes. ECOWAS has dispatched a delegation, warned of sanctions and will meet on Dec. 14 to push for a restoration of constitutional order.

03:53 AM, 12/03/2025Politics
Guinea-Bissau Coup Destroys Vote Records and Halts Presidential Election

Guinea-Bissau's electoral commission says it cannot complete the presidential election held on Nov. 23 after armed men seized ballots, regional tally sheets and the computers of election staff, and destroyed the central server that stored provisional results.

Idrissa Djalo, a senior electoral commission official, said the commission 'does not have the material and logistical conditions to follow through with the electoral process.' He added that 'they confiscated the computers of all 45 staff members who were at the commission that day,' and that tally sheets from all regions were taken and the server holding the results was destroyed, making independent validation impossible.

What happened

Army officers seized power on Nov. 26, a day before provisional results were due to be published. Major-General Horta Inta-A was sworn in as transitional president on Nov. 27 and has since imposed restrictions including bans on demonstrations and strikes. He has announced a one-year transitional period and appointed a 28-member cabinet largely drawn from figures aligned with the deposed administration.

The coup came three days after a tightly contested vote in which both leading candidates — incumbent Umaro Sissoco Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa — claimed victory before any official results were released. Embalo said he was detained during the takeover and subsequently fled to Brazzaville. Nigeria said President Bola Tinubu authorised protection for Dias da Costa, citing an 'imminent threat to his life.'

Regional and political reaction

The PAIGC, one of the country's dominant parties, had been barred from presenting a candidate in the election, a move civil-rights groups condemned as part of a broader crackdown on the opposition. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has sent a high-level delegation led by its chairman, Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio, to press military leaders and electoral officials to restore constitutional order.

ECOWAS has warned of possible sanctions against those undermining the democratic process and is due to meet on Dec. 14 to discuss the crisis. The destruction and seizure of both physical and electronic voting records have left the outcome of the election unresolved and raised international alarm about the prospects for a credible resolution.

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