Guinea-Bissau Sets Election Date After Last Year’s Coup

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1233 EAT on Thursday 22 January 2026

Guinea-Bissau’s military government has announced a date for new elections following the coup that ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo late last year, according to a statement from the country’s military leader.

“All conditions necessary for organizing free, fair, and transparent elections have been met,” Major-General Horta Inta-a said in a decree read on Wednesday.

Guinea-Bissau’s military government has set December 6 as the date for both legislative and presidential elections, according to a statement released by the army leader.

The November coup that ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo led to the installation of former army chief of staff, Major-General Horta Inta-a, as head of the military government. Inta-a is now tasked with overseeing a one-year transition period. However, a transitional charter published in early December bars Inta-a—once a close ally of Embalo—from running in the upcoming elections.

The military justified the coup, claiming it acted to prevent a potential “bloodbath” between supporters of rival presidential candidates, as Embalo sought re-election for a second term.

Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest nations, has been plagued by coups and attempted coups since gaining independence from Portugal over 50 years ago, including a failed coup last October.

The small West African country, home to 2.2 million people, has also earned a reputation as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a situation experts argue has contributed to the ongoing political instability.

The election announcement follows a recent visit to Guinea-Bissau by an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission, led by Sierra Leonean President and ECOWAS chair Julius Maada Bio, alongside his Senegalese counterpart Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

The two leaders engaged in talks with Guinea-Bissau’s military rulers, urging a brief, structured, and transparent transition. They also called for the release of political opponents, including opposition leader Domingos Simoes Pereira, who was detained on the day of the coup.

West Africa has experienced a surge in coups since 2020, with military leaders typically citing the need to protect the country from insurgencies or address poor governance as their justification.

In neighboring Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, military leaders seized power with promises of improving security for citizens against extremist groups. Similarly, in Guinea, General Mamady Doumbouya ousted the president in 2021, pledging to eliminate corruption from the government.

Credit Aljazeera.

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