The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has upheld the financial sanctions and travel ban imposed on coup leaders and their relations in Guinea and Mali.
The regional bloc, during a conference, also announced the appointment of Mohamed Ibn Chambas as Special Envoy to Guinea, to promote the success of a transition process.
Soldiers ousted Guinea’s long-serving President, Alpha Condé, on 05 September with coup leader and head of the country’s special forces, Col Mamadi Doumbouya, saying ‘poverty and endemic corruption’ had driven his forces to remove Condé from office.
‘The conference reaffirms its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of President Alpha Condé. It takes note of the latest developments in Guinea, in particular, the adoption of the transition charter, the appointment of a first civil minister and the formation of the transitional government’, ECOWAS said in a statement.
ECOWAS also expressed displeasure over the lack of progress in the transition process and condemned the expulsion of the permanent representative of ECOWAS to Mali.
Mali slid into political turmoil last year, culminating in a coup led by Colonel Assimi Goita against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The military junta later set up an interim civilian government tasked with steering the country back to democratic rule.
Mali’s junta expelled the ECOWAS special envoy, Hamidou Boly, from the country on 26 October, declaring him persona non grata.
‘On the political level, the president of ECOWAS informed the conference of the official notification by the transitional authorities of their inability to meet the February 2022 transition deadline’, the statement added.
‘The conference strongly deplores the lack of progress in the process, preparation for the elections, including the lack of a detailed schedule of activities for the holding of the elections on the agreed dates.
‘The conference recalls the need to respect the calendar of the transition for the elections scheduled for February 27, 2022, and asks the transitional authorities to work in this direction in order to ensure the rapid return to constitutional order’.
ECOWAS will hold its next summit in December when the regional body is expected to consider more sanctions ‘if the situation persists’.
Source: ECOWAS
Photo source: ECOWAS
