Guinea-Bissau's electoral commission says that it cannot publish the results of last week's contested election as the vote counts have been destroyed in an attack. The military took control of the country a day before the provisional results were due to be announced.
The deputy executive secretary of the country's National Electoral Commission (CNE), Idrissa Djalo, told journalists on Tuesday that they were "unable to conclude the electoral process".
Reading a statement to reporters, Djalo said all of the tally sheets were destroyed except for those from Bissau, the country's capital.
On Monday, members of the CNE met with a senior delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), who asked whether the body could release the results.
"We answered them no," Djalo told reporters, describing how in the morning before the coup, "armed men wearing balaclavas burst into the tabulation room".
Gunmen storm party headquarters as military cements power in Guinea-Bissau
According to Djalo, the men arrested the CNE president and five Supreme Court judges who were present, and additionally threatened 45 agents.
"They seized their phones and computers and destroyed all the tally sheets. We only have the tally sheets from Bissau," Djalo said.
"The main server was destroyed. The tally sheets from Oio and Cacheu, which were being transferred, were intercepted and confiscated by other men. All the equipment was destroyed."
Statement 'under duress'
CNE president Mpabi Cabi, who was detained for five days, made his first public appearance alongside Djalo but did not address journalists.
According to Muniro Conte, the spokesperson for the historic opposition party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea (PAIGC), this statement was made under duress.
"We all know that the Independent National Electoral Commission is under pressure," he told RFI's correspondent.
"It must be said that there are no security conditions for the announcement of the results. That's reasonable, that's acceptable. But when they say it's a question of data entry, that's not true. The data has been backed up."
He asserts that it would be possible to compile the results using the existing tally sheets, given that each candidate's representative received a copy.
This same solution has been put forward by opposition leader Fernando Dias da Costa of the Social Renovation Party (PRS), who on Tuesday was granted asylum by the Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau.
"If the head of the CNE has lost data, then people should come together and compare it," he said.
"Therefore, for us, it is still possible to announce the election results because it's not only the CNE that has data. We all have data. I won the elections, and I even know by what percentage."
Ecowas talks 'productive'
The military takeover, which came before the official results of the 23 November presidential and parliamentary elections could be announced, has drawn condemnation from several organisations including the United Nations and the African Union.
Ecowas, which suspended Guinea-Bissau from all decision-making bodies until constitutional order is restored, sent a delegation to meet the junta on Monday.
Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Alhaji Musa Timothy Kabba told the press that while the discussions were "productive", "both parties expressed their concerns".
The junta again justified its seizure of power as a way to "preserve order and security," and has already sworn in a new transitional leader, General Horta N'Tam, who will lead the country for one year.
Guinea-Bissau general sworn in as transitional president following coup
Seven civil society organisations have signed a pact demanding a return to constitutional order, the release of detainees, and the publication and respect of the election results.
The Guinean League for Human Rights expressed concern on Tuesday for people still in detention, including veteran opposition leader Domingo Simoes Pereira, as well as a member of his campaign team and an official from the PAIGC. Guinea-Bissau's Attorney General, Fernando Gomez, also remains in detention.
Ecowas said it will address the case of Guinea-Bissau at an extraordinary meeting of the region's heads of state on 14 December.
Motive unclear
The motive for the coup remains unclear, with speculation in some quarters that it was carried out with the blessing of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who has found refuge in the Republic of the Congo.
The opposition and some experts have suggested that Embalo, in power since 2020, orchestrated the takeover to halt the electoral process.
Sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea, Guinea-Bissau has already seen four coups and a host of attempted takeovers since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.
Among the world's poorest countries, it has now joined the likes of Burkina Faso, Mali, Madagascar, Niger and Sudan on the list of states suspended from the African Union following coups.
(with AFP)
