Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commission announced it cannot complete the November 23 presidential election after armed individuals stormed its offices, seized ballots and vote tallies, and destroyed servers holding election data.

The disruption comes after a military takeover on November 26, just a day before results were to be announced.

Senior official Idrissa Djalo said the commission lacked the necessary resources and materials to continue the process. Major-General Horta Inta-a, sworn in as transitional president on November 27, announced a one-year transitional period, effectively halting the election.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has urged the military to restore constitutional order and release the results. A delegation led by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio met with authorities in Bissau on Monday. ECOWAS leaders are set to discuss the situation on December 14 and have warned of possible sanctions.

Djalo said the attackers confiscated computers from all 45 commission staff, seized regional tally sheets, and destroyed the server storing results, making it impossible to complete the vote.

Guinea-Bissau has faced persistent political instability since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, with only one president completing a full term. The country has also emerged as a key transit point for cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Europe. Inta-a defended the coup as a measure to prevent “narco-traffickers” from undermining democracy.

Copied