Guinea: ECOWAS Gives Transition Process Update

By Development Diaries
November 1, 2021

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Mission to Guinea has reiterated its commitment to ensuring a return to constitutional order in the country.

In a communique it issued on the status of the transition process in the country, the regional bloc called on multilateral and bilateral partners, including national socio-political stakeholders, to support the process.

Soldiers ousted Guinea’s long-serving President, Alpha Condé, on 05 September, telling the West African nation they had dissolved its government and constitution and closed the country’s land and air borders.

The coup leader and head of the country’s special forces, Col Mamadi Doumbouya, said ‘poverty and endemic corruption’ had driven his forces to remove Condé from office.

In its immediate reaction, ECOWAS suspended Guinea’s membership and froze financial assets and imposed travel bans on the coup leaders and their relatives.

The military junta however produced a transition charter on 28 September, outlining plans to return the country to democratic rule, with ECOWAS demanding that elections be held in six months.

The charter allows for a government headed by a civilian prime minister and a legislative body called the National Transition Council (CNT).

‘The mission commended the important decisions taken by the transition authorities, notably the adoption of the Transition Charter, the appointment of a civilian prime minister, and the ongoing formation of a broad-based government’, the ECOWAS communique read.

‘It noted that the National Council of the Transition, a legislative body, will be established soon.

‘The mission encouraged the transitional authorities to initiate the necessary process with a view to ensuring the return to normal constitutional order, consistent with the provisions of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance’.

The ECOWAS mission to Guinea, which was led by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, noted that it held consultations with the Prime Minister of Guinea, Mohamed Beavogui, and other members of government.

Source: ECOWAS