Former Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embalo announced today his “voluntary return to the country” for October 4 and called for his arrival to take place “in an environment of harmony, tolerance and mutual respect”.
© Lusa
28/09/2026
by
Lusa
The announcement of Embaló's return, deposed in a coup on 26 November last, was made by his own on social networks.
According to the publication, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who has settled in Morocco since the coup, underlines the need to “put national interest and stability above any political differences”.
“Guinea-Bissau is our homeland and belongs to all of us. Regardless of our positions or political options, we must preserve social peace, strengthen unity and place national interest above differences,” the former President wrote in the message.
Umaro Sissoco Embaló presided over Guinea-Bissau from 27 February 2020 on 26 November 2026 until he was overthrown by a coup led by General Horta Inta-a, his former head of security in the Presidency of the Republic.
The opposition considered that this was a “ceremonial coup” for taking place on the eve of the announcement of the provisional results of the presidential elections that the bloc defends were won “at the first turn” by Fernando Dias da Costa.
In his message of announcement of the return, Sissoco Embalo points out that the “return to homeland soil is a gesture of trust” in Guinea-Bissau’s future, motivated by the feeling of belonging and “by the desire to rediscover” Guinean society.
The former Head of State calls for the reception “to be peaceful and fraternal, avoiding behaviour that may arouse tensions or divisions” among countrymen and even strengthening civic responsibility and preserving the fundamental principles of the rule of law.
With the coup d'état of November 26, the military created a National Transitional Council (CNT), which took over the powers of parliament, and appointed Ilídio Vieira Té Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
The body has approved a new Constitution which strengthens the powers of the President of the Republic, among other amendments.
General Horta Inta scheduled it for 6 December next the date for the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections and the opposition considers that those would be preparing to facilitate the return of Embalo to power.
*** The delegation of the Lusa agency in Guinea-Bissau has been suspended since August 2025 after the expulsion by the Government of the representatives of the Portuguese media. Coverage is being secured at a distance ***