A policeman casts his vote ahead of the presidential election at the National Election Commission headquarter in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Christophe Van Der Perre/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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By Reuters
Sustained gunfire broke out on Wednesday near the headquarters of the national election commission in Guinea-Bissau’s capital, a Reuters witness and two other residents said.
The coup-prone West African country held a presidential election on Sunday, and provisional results were expected to be announced on Thursday.
The race pits incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo against top challenger Fernando Dias, and both sides claimed victory in the first round earlier this week.
A drone view shows a statue of Amilcar Lopes Cabral, an anti-colonial leader who led Guinea-Bissau’s independence movement as head of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, November 24, 2025. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
One of the witnesses said residents were running away from the scene as gunfire continued near the election commission building around 1300 GMT.
It was not immediately clear who was involved in the shooting.
Reporting by Alberto Dabo; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Alex Richardson
