Guinea-Bissau army appoints general as transitional president after coup | Election news

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

A group of military officers have claimed “total control” of the country, a day after two leading candidates in a hotly contested presidential election each declared victory.

Guinea-Bissau’s army has appointed a general to lead the country for a year, a day after staging a coup to seize power and arresting the West African country’s president as controversial election results loomed.

“I have just taken the oath at the head of the high command,” declared General Horta Nta Na Man after taking the oath during a ceremony at the army headquarters on Thursday, AFP journalists noted.

Dozens of heavily armed soldiers were deployed to the scene.

A group of military officers claimed “total control” of the country on Wednesday, a day after two leading candidates in a hotly contested presidential election each declared victory.

Calling themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order,” the officers read a statement on television, saying they had ordered the immediate suspension of the electoral process “until further notice.”

They ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in the latest bout of unrest in the coup-prone country.

Provisional results were expected to be announced in the race between Embalo and Fernando Dias, a political newcomer who has emerged as Embalo’s main challenger to lead the country, a hub of cocaine trafficking.

The capital Bissau was mostly calm on Thursday, with soldiers patrolling the streets and many residents staying home even after the nighttime curfew was lifted. Businesses and banks were closed.

More to come…