The military coup in the African country Guinea-Bissau ousted President Embalo

The military of Guinea-Bissau, a country in western Africa, launched a coup and appointed senior officer Orta Nantam as the interim president.

Reuters, citing Radio France Internationale, reported that the military, which calls itself the "High Military Command for Restoring Order", announced on Thursday (November 27) that Horta Nta Na Man would serve as interim president for a one-year term.

The military issued a television statement on Wednesday (the 26th), claiming to take over the country and remove President Embalo, while also announcing a curfew.

The military also said that the authorities foiled a conspiracy aimed at destabilizing the country and tampering with the election results, and accused drug traffickers and others of conspiring to manipulate the election. Therefore, it declared the election last weekend invalid and ordered a suspension of the election process. The Election Commission was originally scheduled to announce the results of the presidential and legislative elections on November 23 on Thursday.

Analysts point out that the recent political upheaval in Guinea-Bissau occurred one day before the announcement of the presidential election results, and the direct cause is the intense conflicts among different political forces. The long-term political unrest in Guinea-Bissau is closely related to the country's severe poverty problem and rampant drug crimes.

According to the country's presidential election system, if no candidate secures more than 50% of the votes in the first round of voting, a second round of voting will be held. However, the re-election candidate Embalo and the independent candidate Fernando Diaz da Costa were evenly matched, each claiming victory in the first round of voting.

The African Union Commission condemned the military coup that took place in Guinea-Bissau and called for the immediate and unconditional release of President Embalo and all detained officials.

Russia also indicated that it would closely monitor the situation in Guinea-Bissau and called for stability.

Guinea-bissau, a small coastal country located between Senegal and Guinea, serves as a transit point for cocaine drugs transported to Europe.

During Embaro's administration, the cocaine trade seemed to be booming. A report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime in August said that the profits from the country's cocaine trade might be higher than ever before.

Since its independence from Portugal in 1974 until Embalo took office in 2020, Guinea-Bissau has experienced at least nine coups and attempted coups.