GUINEA-BISSAU’s deposed president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has arrived in Senegal, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed, a day after a group of military officers in Guinea-Bissau seized power in a coup.
Senegal’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday night that Embalo had arrived in Senegal after authorities engaged with actors in Guinea-Bissau to try to secure his release.
Embalo reached Senegal on board an aircraft chartered by the Senegalese government, it said.
“The government of the Republic of Senegal reaffirms its readiness to work alongside ECOWAS, the African Union and all relevant partners, with a view to supporting dialogue, stability and the rapid restoration of constitutional order and democratic legitimacy in this brotherly nation,” the statement said.
Embalo was deposed on Wednesday after military officers announced they had seized “total control” of Guinea-Bissau ahead of the expected release of presidential election results in the West African nation.
Embalo had been vying for re-election against his main challenger, Fernando Dias. Both had declared victory ahead of the release of the provisional results.
But the main opposition PAIGC party was barred from presenting a presidential candidate, raising criticism from civil society groups, which said the election was illegitimate.
Dubbing themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order”, the military officers read out a statement on television on Wednesday, declaring that they had ordered the immediate suspension of the electoral process “until further notice”.
They also ordered the closure of Guinea-Bissau’s borders and an overnight curfew.
On Thursday, General Horta Inta-A was sworn in as the country’s transitional president, defending the military takeover by saying that there had been “sufficient [evidence] to justify the operation”.
But the coup – one of several to hit Guinea-Bissau since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1974 – has spurred widespread concern, including from regional bodies.
The chairperson of the African Union Commission condemned the situation earlier on Thursday, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Embalo and all other detained officials.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf also urged “all parties to exercise the utmost restraint in order to prevent any further deterioration of the situation”.