Ousted Guinea-Bissau president says he will contest December election

Guinea-Bissau’s ousted former president Umaro Sissoco Embalo says he will return to the country and contest a presidential election scheduled for December 6, according to an interview with AFP. Embalo was removed in a military coup in November, shortly after presidential and legislative elections and one day before provisional results were due to be announced. The army suspended the electoral process and installed a transitional administration led by General Horta N’Tam.

“I will be a candidate in the presidential election,” Embalo told AFP on Monday. He did not say when he would return. Activists have reportedly been discussing plans for his arrival, while N’Tam said every Guinean was free to return if they had nothing to be ashamed of.

Political analyst Malam Cisse told AFP that there was no legal obstacle to Embalo’s return because he had been removed by a coup and had not signed a document renouncing power. History professor Bassirou Sadio likewise said people should be allowed to participate once they met the legal requirements and respected the rules. Many observers have suspected Embalo of orchestrating the coup to halt an election process he appeared to be losing.

The source material does not establish that allegation, and it has not been presented as a proven fact. N’Tam, who also serves as transitional president, is barred from contesting the election under the transitional charter. The military said its intervention followed the discovery of an alleged destabilisation plot involving drug traffickers and was intended to preserve national order.

The junta has also backed an August constitutional referendum that gives the president greater powers, saying the change will stabilise state institutions before the December vote. Opposition parties urged voters to boycott the referendum. Guinea-Bissau has experienced repeated coups and attempted overthrows since independence from Portugal in 1974, while poverty and political instability have contributed to concerns about corruption and drug smuggling.