DAKAR: The African Union suspended Guinea-Bissau following a military coup, saying it won’t tolerate unconstitutional changes.
In a resolution adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council, the organization reiterated it has “zero tolerance on unconstitutional changes of government” and moved to “immediately suspend the Republic of Guinea-Bissau from participating in all activities of the union, its organs and institutions, until constitutional order is restored in the country.”
Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been dogged by coups and attempted coups since its independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago, including a coup attempt in October. 
The country of 2.2 million people is known as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trend that experts say has fueled its political crises.
The West African regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, on Thursday suspended Guinea-Bissau from its decision-making bodies until the constitutional order is restored.
The military takeover on Wednesday came after presidential and legislative elections on Sunday. 
Incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and opposition candidate Fernando Dias each claimed victory.
Embalo arrived in Senegal on Thursday with a flight chartered by the Senegalese government.
Following the coup, the military high command in the West African nation inaugurated former army chief of staff, Gen. Horta Inta-a, as the head of the military government, which will oversee a one-year transition period, according to a declaration broadcast on state television.
On Friday, the military leader named as his prime minister Ilidio Vieira Te, the finance minister in Embalo’s government.
The people of Guinea-Bissau “expect a lot” of their new leaders, he told Te during a brief swearing-in ceremony, saying he hoped the junta and the new prime minister would “continue to work hand-in-hand.”
Meanwhile, life in the capital, Bissau, began to return to a semblance of normality.
Vehicles returned to the streets, borders were ordered reopened, and markets began functioning again.
“I resumed my work because if I stay home, I will have nothing to eat,” said Boubacar Embalo, a 25-year-old street vendor.
Sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea, Guinea-Bissau had already undergone four coups and a host of attempted takeovers since its independence from Portugal in 1974.
Among the world’s poorest countries, it has now joined the list of states suspended from the AU following coups, alongside Burkina Faso, Mali, Madagascar, Niger, and Sudan.
Crippling poverty, chaotic administration, and political tumult have made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption and drug smuggling.