Military personnel took control on Wednesday of the main road leading to the presidential palace in Guinea-Bissau, near which heavy gunfire was heard at midday, as the country awaits the results of the presidential and legislative elections held on Sunday and the fate of outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo remains unknown.

These soldiers, from the presidential guard and an elite corps of the gendarmerie, controlled the deserted area and calm had returned by early afternoon, AFP journalists on the scene observed.

The shooting has stopped for the moment and calm has returned, according to AFP journalists.

Shortly before, hundreds of people on foot or in vehicles had fled the area to take shelter while heavy gunfire had been heard several times.

"We're used to Bissau," a passerby fleeing the scene told an AFP journalist.

The fate of the outgoing president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, was not known early Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Embalo's camp and that of opposition candidate Fernando Dias de Costa each claimed victory on Tuesday, while the official provisional results of these elections are not expected until Thursday in this country accustomed to political unrest, which has experienced four coups and a host of attempted putsch since its independence.

- "Manipulation" -

The official provisional results, expected on Thursday, must then be validated by the Supreme Court at a date that is not yet known.

The outgoing president is given the favorite to win the presidential election which took place in calm, but without the main opposition party, the PAIGC, and its candidate, Domingoes Simoes Pereira.

His main opponent in the election is Fernando Dias, who has received the support of the PAIGC, the former single party and main opposition party.

The opposition has described the exclusion of the PAIGC from the presidential and legislative elections as "manipulation" and believes that President Embalo's mandate expired on February 27, five years to the day after his inauguration.

The PAIGC, the historic party that led the country to independence by force of arms in 1974, was excluded - also for a case that was too late - from the legislative elections, aimed at electing the 102 members of Parliament.

It was dissolved in December 2023, when it was dominated by the opposition, by President Embalo who has since governed by decree.

The proclamation of election results has often given rise to protest movements in the country.

The previous presidential election, in 2019, led to several months of post-election crisis, with Mr. Embalo and his opponent Mr. Pereira both claiming victory.

More than 6,700 members of the security forces, including elements of the stabilization force of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), were deployed to secure the election and the post-election period.

With nearly 40% of its population living below the poverty line, Guinea-Bissau is among the poorest countries in the world. It is known to be a hub for drug trafficking between South America and Europe, facilitated by political instability.