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A military commander has been inaugurated as the nation's new president a day after the military said it had taken control.

General Horta N'Tam assumes the role of the interim leader for a duration of 12 months.

The armed forces had already halted the electoral process and prevented the publication of the results of Sunday's presidential election which were anticipated on the following day.

Claims of Simulated Takeover

Some civil society groups in Guinea-Bissau have accused outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of masterminding a "simulated coup" targeting himself with the assistance of the armed forces, claiming it was a ruse to prevent election results from being released in case he is defeated.

"This manoeuvre seeks to stop the publication of the election outcomes planned for the next day, November 27," the activist group People's Front said in a statement on the previous day.

The president has remained silent to the allegations.

He has said he has survived multiple takeover bids during his time in office. Nevertheless, his detractors have previously accused him of inventing emergencies in order to crack down on opposition.

Nation Profile

Located between its northern neighbor and its southern neighbor, the regional country is recognized as a infamous drug-trafficking center where the armed forces has been powerful since independence from the colonial power in 1974.

The nation has experienced at least nine military takeovers or attempted coups over the past 50 years.

Recent Developments

The most recent of these, on Wednesday, witnessed a faction of military officers announce they have seized control of the nation, following accounts that President Embaló had been arrested.

Gunshots were heard in the main city, Bissau but it was not immediately clear who was involved in the gunfire or if there were any casualties.

The military leaders then appeared on national television, saying they had halted the voting procedure.

They claimed they were taking action to prevent a scheme by unidentified politicians who had "the support of a prominent drug baron" to disrupt the nation, and announced the shutting of its borders and enforced a evening curfew.

Election Consequences

The election results were expected on the following day - both the president and his main opponent Fernando Dias had claimed success.

Dias was backed by former Prime Minister Domingos Pereira, who had been disqualified from running.

Late on the previous day late day, the president informed a media outlet in a telephone conversation: "I have been deposed."

Government sources later told media outlets that the opposition candidate, the former prime minister and security official the minister had as well been arrested.

The same sources said the coup leaders had taken military leader Gen Biague Na Ntan and his deputy, Gen Mamadou Touré, into detention too.

Global Response

In a joint statement, representatives of monitoring teams from the African Union and the regional organization the economic community expressed "deep concern with the announcement of a military takeover by the armed forces".

They said the nation had been prepared for the release of the voting outcomes after what it characterized as an "organized and peaceful" procedure.

"It's regrettable that this announcement occurred at a moment when the missions had recently finished consulting with the main presidential candidates, who guaranteed us of their willingness to accept the will of the electorate," they commented.

Portugal, the country's former colonial ruler, has called for a return to legal governance, with its foreign ministry urging "all those involved to abstain from any act of governmental or public unrest".

Leadership Context

Embaló, fifty-three, had wanted to set a record as the country's only president to obtain a second consecutive term in the past three decades.

He had originally stated he would not seek a re-election. Before the delayed polls, his authority was challenged, with the rival parties arguing his period in office should have officially ended in early next year.

Financial and Societal Conditions

Guinea-Bissau is among the most impoverished nations in the globe with a population of more than 2 million individuals.

Its coastline has numerous uninhabited islands, rendering it perfect for narcotics smugglers - with the United Nations calling it a "drug-dependent nation" as it has been a key staging area for the narcotic originating from Latin America to Europe.