ALBAWABA- Army Chief of Staff General Horta N'Tam was sworn in Thursday as Guinea-Bissau’s transitional president for a one-year term, sealing a rapid military takeover that has drawn strong condemnation from the African Union.
The oath-taking ceremony, held under heavy guard at the General Staff headquarters in Bissau, was broadcast on state television, according to an army communique.
Flanked by senior officers, N'Tam vowed to “restore order and prepare for credible elections,” though he offered no details on a transition timetable or the status of detained civilian leaders.
The junta, calling itself the “High Military Command,” said it intervened to prevent “electoral fraud” following the disputed November 23 presidential and legislative elections, whose final results have yet to be announced.
President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, arrested Wednesday along with Interior Minister Botché Candé and several aides, remains in military custody at an undisclosed location, his office confirmed.
Opposition contender Fernando Dias da Costa, who claimed an early lead based on preliminary tallies, condemned the takeover as a “staged farce” and demanded full publication of the vote results. Sporadic gunfire near the National Electoral Commission continued into Thursday.
Guinea-Bissau, a fragile cashew-dependent nation of 2.1 million people, has endured four successful coups since independence from Portugal in 1974, fueled by political rivalries, ethnic tensions, drug trafficking networks, and repeated electoral disputes.
Embaló’s rule, marked by sweeping decrees including the dissolution of parliament in 2022, had increasingly alienated segments of the military amid rising pre-election tensions.
The African Union denounced the takeover as an “unconstitutional change of government,” with AU Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf calling for Embaló’s immediate release and a swift return to constitutional order. ECOWAS issued a similar condemnation and announced an emergency summit to uphold its “zero-tolerance” policy on military coups.
