Portugal calls for end to violence in Bissau, vote counting resuming

LISBON (Reuters) -Portugal on Wednesday called for an end to violence in Guinea-Bissau and asked for the resumption of the electoral process after a group of army officers said they had seized power, a day before the planned announcement of results from a hotly-contested presidential election.

"The Portuguese Government calls on all those involved to refrain from any act of institutional or civic violence and to resume the regular functioning of institutions, so that the process of counting and proclaiming the election results can be finalized," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Guinea-Bissau had been shaken by at least nine coups and attempted coups between 1974, when it gained independence from Portugal, and 2020, when now-deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embalo took office.

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Inti Landauro)