Guinea-Bissau’s coup called a ‘sham’ by West African political figures

Senegal’s prime minister and Nigeria’s former president have both said they do not believe the ousting of Guinea-Bissau’s president by the country’s military was a genuine coup.

Former President Umaro Sissoco Embaló’s apparent removal came a day before authorities were due to announce election results.

The military has since suspended the electoral process and blocked the results’ release, and has insisted it thwarted a plot to destabilise the politically unstable country.

Senegal’s PM Ousmane Sonko and Nigeria’s ex-leader Goodluck Jonathan demanded the presidential election results be released, but did not provide evidence to support their claims the coup was fabricated.

The ex-president arrived in neighbouring Senegal on a chartered military flight late on Thursday, following his release by the military forces who toppled his government.

Nigeria’s former leader Jonathan, who led a team of election observers from the West African Elders Forum to Guinea-Bissau, said the incident “was not a coup”.

He described it as a “ceremonial coup”, questioning the events that preceded Wednesday’s announcement of a power grab by the military.

He specifically wondered why President Embaló was the first to announce his own overthrow and drew contrasts with how other leaders in the region were ousted in recent coups.

Embaló phoned up French TV station France 24 and said: “I have been deposed.”

Meanwhile, Senegal’s Sonko told lawmakers that “what happened in Guinea-Bissau was a sham”.

The statements of both men add to claims by the opposition that the coup was staged, although none has so far presented evidence to support this.

Embaló has not commented on the allegations.

On Friday, Guinea-Bissau’s transitional leader Gen Horta N’Tam appointed Ilidio Vieira Té, previously the finance minister, as the new prime minister.

Additionally, the African Union suspended Guinea-Bissau on Friday following the unconstitutional military takeover, AFP reports.

The West African bloc Ecowas took a similar action, while urging the military to return to the barracks.

Guinea-Bissau is a coup-prone West African nation which is also strained by drug trafficking.

The military said they were taking power to thwart a plot by unnamed politicians who had “the support of a well-known drug baron” to destabilise the country.

A mother of three told the BBC it was not the first military takeover she had lived through, nonetheless it came as a surprise as people were expecting to hear about the outcome of the election, which had an estimated voter turnout of more than 65%.

“We heard gunfire. We ran away. We tried to pack our bags to go home,” she said.

Another resident of the capital, Bissau, said he was unhappy about the situation.

“This doesn’t help anyone. Because it puts the country into chaos,” Mohamed Sylla told the BBC.

But reactions have been mixed, with some residents praising the army and hoping for an orderly transition.

“I am not against the military regime as long as they improve the living conditions in the country,” Suncar Gassama told the BBC.