The military in Guinea-Bissau military has appointed a general as the country’s new leader for one year, a day after staging a coup to seize power and arresting the president of the West African nation as contentious election results were imminent.

“I have just been sworn in to lead the High Command,” General Horta Nta Na Man declared after taking the oath of office in a ceremony at the military’s headquarters on Thursday, AFP journalists observed.

Dozens of heavily armed soldiers were deployed at the scene.

On Wednesday, a group of military officers in claimed “total control” of the country, a day after two leading candidates in a tightly contested presidential election each declared victory.

Calling themselves the “High Military Command for the Restoration of Order”, the officers read out a statement on television, declaring that they had ordered the immediate suspension of the electoral process “until further notice”.

They ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in the latest episode of unrest in the coup-prone country.

Provisional results had been expected to be announced in the race between Embalo and Fernando Dias, a political newcomer who had emerged as Embalo’s top challenger to run the country, which is a hub for cocaine trafficking.

The capital Bissau was mostly quiet on Thursday, with soldiers on the patrolling the streets and many residents staying indoors even after the overnight curfew lifted. Businesses and banks were closed.

More to come…