Senegal’s prime minister and Nigeria’s former president have both said they do not believe the ousting of Guyana-Bissau’s president by the country’s military was a genuine coup.
Former president Amaru Sissoko Mbale was apparently eliminated a day before officials were due to announce election results.
The military has since suspended the election process and blocked the release of results, insisting that it foiled a plot to destabilise a politically unstable country.
Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and former Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathan called for the release of the presidential election results but did not provide evidence to support their claims that the coup was rigged.
The former president arrived in neighbouring Senegal on a chartered military flight late Thursday, following the release of military forces that toppled his government.
Former Nigerian leader Jonathan, who led a team of West African Elders Forum election observers to Guyana-Bissau, said the incident was “not a coup”.
He described it as a “formal coup” and questioned the events that preceded the announcement of the power takeover by the army on Wednesday.
He particularly wondered why President Mbale was the first to announce his own rise to power, contrasting how other leaders in the region had been ousted in recent coups.
Mbale called the French TV station France 24 and said, “I have been deposed.”
Meanwhile, Senegal’s Sonko told lawmakers that “what happened in Guyana-Bissau was shameful.”
Both men’s statements add to opposition claims that a coup has been staged, although neither has yet produced evidence to support it.
Mbali has not commented on the allegations.
On Friday, Guyana-Bissau’s interim leader, General Horta Ntum, appointed Eladio Wira Tay, previously the Minister of Finance, as the new Prime Minister.
The African Union suspended Guinea-Bissau on Friday after an unconstitutional military takeover, AFP reported.
The West African bloc ECOWAS took similar action, urging troops to return to barracks.
Guyana-Bissau is an insurgency-prone West African nation that also faces pressure from drug trafficking.
The army said it was taking over to foil a plot by unidentified politicians who had “the support of a known drug lord” to destabilise the country.
A mother-of-three told the BBC that this was not the first military occupation she had lived through, yet it was surprising that people were expecting to hear about the results of the election, which is estimated to have a voter turnout of more than 65 percent.
“We heard gunshots. We ran. We tried to pack our bags to go home,” he said.
Another resident of the capital, Basu, said he was unhappy with the situation.
“It doesn’t help anyone. Because it throws the country into chaos,” Mohamed Sela told the BBC.
But reactions have been mixed, with some residents praising the military and hoping for an orderly transition.
“I am not against a military government as long as they improve the living conditions in the country,” Sankar Gesama told the BBC.
