A group of military officers in Guinea-Bissau led by Brigadier General Denis N’Canha, head of the military office of the Guinea-Bissau presidency, has announced the government takeover and claimed “total control” of the country.
The development come a day after both the top candidates in a tightly contested presidential election declared victory.
Calling themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order”, the officers read out a statement on television on Wednesday, declaring that they had ordered the immediate suspension of the electoral process “until further notice”.
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Aljazeera Media Network reports that the military officers also ordered the closure of all land, air and sea borders and an overnight curfew.
The move came shortly after sustained gunfire was heard near the election commission’s headquarters, the presidential palace and the Ministry of the Interior in the capital, Bissau.
The results of Sunday’s presidential vote had been expected to be announced on Thursday in the West African nation.
The vote pitted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo against his primary challenger, Fernando Dias.
The officers also announced the arrest of the president Umaro Sissoco Embolo.
“We have confirmation that the president is under arrest,” Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reported from neighbouring Senegal on Wednesday afternoon.
The head of the main opposition PAIGC party, Domingos Simoes Pereira, has also been arrested, Haque said. “As well, we’ve just heard that the military is trying to cut off the Internet. There’s a curfew in place.”
He added that the army officer leading the coup, Denis N’Canha, served as the head of the presidential guard.