Crisis in Guinea-Bissau: soldiers at the center of the game

Text by: RFI Follow

The post-election standoff continues in Guinea-Bissau. Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who claims the presidential victory, is installed in the palace. But the PAIGC of its rival Domingos Simoes Pereira argues that the electoral dispute is not settled, and denounces a "coup". In this day-to-day arm wrestling, the military are at the center of the game.

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With our special correspondent in Bissau, Charlotte Idrac

They did not make a public statement, but their presence speaks for itself. The highest representatives of the army were all there, Saturday, at the presidential palace, for the inauguration ceremony of Nuno Gomes Nabiam , the Prime Minister appointed by Umaro Sissoco Embalo. The Chief of Staff, the Vice Chief of Staff, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, the Air Force, or the Commander of the National Guard, all posed for a group photo in front of the palace.

The army also provided security for the investiture ceremony organized Thursday by Umaro Sissoco Embalo in a hotel in the capital. Ceremony attended by former chief of staff Antonio Indjai. The military hierarchy therefore, in practice, chose its side. As of Friday, the defense and security forces took control of the main institutions: the government palace which houses several ministries, the courthouse, radio and national television. Saturday evening, the Assembly was invested . The device is light, but visible.

The army in the past has often had a determining political role in Guinea-Bissau. It was she who was on the maneuver during the last coup in 2012. Before the presidential election in late 2019, the chief of staff had assured that the soldiers would now remain " outside of political quarrels ".

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• Guinea-Bissau

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