President of Guinea-Bissau says he stands firm in his post

The President of Guinea-Bissau said on Thursday that the Guinean State is still standing and that he remains firm in his post.

The president's speech, delivered on Thursday, takes place after the attempted coup on the 1st of February.

During his speech, Umaro Sissoco Embaló denounced the perpetrators of the coup.

"They wanted to provoke political chaos and thus condemn Guinea-Bissau to another cycle of political instability and destruction of development expectations. The Guinean State is standing. The President of the Republic that the Guinean people freely and democratically elected remains firmly in his post" said the president.

Umaro Sissoco Embaló also announced that the attempted coup resulted in 12 deaths.

The speech also marked the start of the judicial year in the country. The president of the Supreme Court re-affirmed the courts independence.

"Despite recognising that the increasing prevalence of personal or group interests over the self-interest of the state which significantly threatens our democratic system and rule of law, generating a great and dangerous division in our society with enormous reflections on judicial activity, the judiciary, which embodies the courts through its magistrates, is and will continue as an apolitical and non-partisan power", reassured Pedro Sambú, president of the Supreme Court.

Pedro Sambú added that the legal sector is currently undergoing what he described as "deep reforms".