Guinea-Bissau Presidential Election Results Remain Unclear Amidst Coup and Allegations of Vote Tampering
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the outcome of the presidential election in Guinea-Bissau remains undetermined.
Guinea-Bissau’s National Electoral Commission stated that it is unable to finalize the results of the contested election held on November 23, 2025, due to armed individuals breaking into the commission’s office and stealing ballots.
Idrissa Djalo, a senior official within the electoral commission, reported that attackers destroyed data storage servers containing election results. “We lack the necessary facilities and logistics to continue the election process,” Djalo stated.
The attack on the National Electoral Commission headquarters occurred on November 26, one day before the official election results were scheduled to be announced. Incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa have both declared victory.
A day before the election results were due, the Guinea-Bissau army seized power. The coup leaders appointed General Horta Inta-A, the former army chief of staff, as the head of state, and he was officially sworn in a day after the takeover.
Inta-A subsequently appointed a new 28-member cabinet over the weekend, composed mostly of allies of the ousted president, to manage a one-year transition period.
The incumbent president of Guinea-Bissau initially fled to Senegal and then to Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. Dias, the other candidate in the election, sought refuge in the Nigerian embassy and is under diplomatic protection.
Opponents of Embalo have accused him and his supporters within the military of orchestrating the coup to prevent a potential defeat in the presidential election.
