In Guinea-Bissau, the military junta is pressing ahead with a sweeping disarmament campaign across the capital, Bissau. Weapons have reportedly been found in shipping containers and private homes during searches targeting equipment linked to armed elements tied to former president Umaro Sissoco Embaló. The security operation lands just weeks before the presidential election scheduled for 6 December, while the exiled former leader, now living in Morocco, insists he wants to return and stand as a candidate. For now, the junta is refusing to let him back in, citing security concerns.
Weapons caches hunted across the capital
Security forces are continuing to comb through several districts of Bissau in search of hidden weapons and ammunition. Containers and residential buildings are being inspected as part of a drive aimed at disarming groups deemed capable of threatening stability in the capital.
The military authorities want to regain control of weapons circulating outside official structures. This operation is unfolding in a country where the army has played a central role in political crises for decades, and where coups have repeatedly derailed democratic processes.
Available information suggests that some of the weapons being sought are attributed to elements linked to former president Umaro Sissoco Embaló. It is a politically sensitive accusation, and one that will need to be backed by evidence establishing precisely where the weapons came from and who was holding them.
Embaló’s bid to return and run again
Behind these security operations lies a major political deadline: the presidential election set for 6 December 2026. After the coup that toppled him in November 2025, Umaro Sissoco Embaló has been living in exile in Morocco.
Yet the former president has announced his intention to return to Guinea-Bissau and seek the highest office once again. In late September, he declared he would be a candidate in the presidential race.
His return was initially expected on 4 October. But the military hierarchy decided to block his entry. The junta says the security conditions required for his return are not in place, invoking the need to protect public order and social stability.
Embaló, for his part, is sticking to his determination to take part in the vote and is asking that his candidacy be examined by judicial authorities in an impartial and independent manner.
A candidacy that unsettles the military transition
The confrontation between the former president and the new authorities is no longer limited to the question of his return to the country. It could now play out directly on the electoral battlefield.
The junta has pledged to organise elections aimed at restoring civilian rule. The presidential and legislative votes are officially scheduled for 6 December.
But the Embaló case puts the military in a delicate position. How can they organise an election meant to mark the end of the transition while preventing the former president, ousted by the coup, from returning to campaign?
So far, the authorities have officially justified his travel ban on security grounds. It would therefore be premature to speak of a candidacy legally rejected by the junta. However, his physical return to the country is indeed blocked by the military authorities, which concretely undermines his ability to campaign on the ground.
Weapons as a political as well as security issue
It is against this backdrop that the seizure operations take on an extra dimension. By searching for weapons potentially linked to networks close to the former regime, the junta says it wants to prevent any threat to public safety.
But these operations come at the precise moment when political rivalry over the presidential election is intensifying. The question will therefore be whether the disarmament is purely a security measure or whether it will also affect the political balance of power before the vote.
The military authorities will notably have to demonstrate that the searches and seizures rest on transparent procedures and are not being used to sideline certain political opponents.
A transition under close watch
The junta already had a new Constitution adopted in August following a referendum strongly contested by part of the opposition and civil society. The new text notably strengthens presidential powers.
In this climate, the 6 December presidential election is a crucial moment for the country’s institutional future. Embaló’s possible return, his candidacy and the conditions under which other contenders can campaign will be watched closely.
In Bissau, the military continues to search, seize and disarm. But behind the inspected containers and the weapons being sought, a broader battle is now taking shape: the fight over control of the transition and the conditions under which Guinea-Bissau will — or will not — return to civilian rule.
With two months to go before the vote, the standoff between the junta and Umaro Sissoco Embaló is only just beginning.