Ousted Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has fled to neighboring Senegal after being released by the military junta that overthrew his government. Senegal's foreign ministry confirmed his arrival "safe and sound" on a chartered military flight late Thursday.

The coup, which unfolded on Wednesday, interrupted the electoral process just a day before provisional results of the presidential and parliamentary elections were due. The military has suspended the vote count and installed army chief of staff Gen. Horta N'Tam as transitional leader for one year.

The junta justified its actions by claiming it thwarted a plot by unnamed politicians, allegedly backed by a "well-known drug baron," to destabilize the country. A nighttime curfew has been imposed, public protests are banned, and the borders—briefly shut—have since reopened.

Embaló's main rival, Fernando Dias, claims he won the election with around 52% of the vote and has denounced the coup as "organized" and possibly staged by Embaló himself to avoid defeat. Both Dias and former Prime Minister Domingos Pereira were reportedly detained during the takeover.

Regional and international bodies, including ECOWAS and the African Union, have condemned the coup, suspended Guinea-Bissau from regional bodies, and demanded the immediate restoration of constitutional order.

This event marks the latest in a long history of political instability for Guinea-Bissau, a nation known as a trafficking hub that has experienced at least nine coups or attempts since gaining independence in 1974.