Guinea-Bissau authorities on Tuesday suspended several private radio stations for failure to pay their licenses, in the small West African country ruled by the military since November 2025, according to a statement from the Ministry of Communication.

Among the dozen or so private radio stations in Guinea-Bissau, six were no longer broadcasting on Tuesday, including Sol Manci, Capital FM, Bombolom and Pindjiquiti, stations that are very popular in the country, AFP observed.

Their suspension is scheduled for "a period of seven days" and "will be extended if necessary", the statement said.

The junta, led by General Horta N'Tam, set the price of a license at 5 million CFA francs (7,622 euros), a sum deemed exorbitant by the owners of private radio stations.

"Our radio station can pay the 5 million, but that's not the case for others," a journalist and member of the management of the religious radio station Sol Manci told AFP.

A negotiating committee has been set up to find a solution to the issue of license payments.

According to a source close to the Prime Minister's office, a meeting is scheduled for this Tuesday afternoon between the heads of private radio stations and Prime Minister Ilidio Vieira Te "to find a solution to (their) closure".

Guinea-Bissau has been ruled since November 26, the day before the expected announcement of the provisional results of the presidential and legislative elections in the country, by military officers who overthrew outgoing President Umaro Sissoco Embalo and suspended the electoral process.

Located between Senegal and Guinea (Conakry), this Portuguese-speaking coastal country in West Africa had already experienced four coups and a host of attempted coups since its independence from Portugal in 1974.

At the end of January, General N'Tam set December 6 as the date for the presidential and legislative elections intended to mark the return of power to civilians, according to a presidential decree.