The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) has called on the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and civil society organisations (CSOs) to work towards short, inclusive and effective transition in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.
OSIWA, in a statement, said the unfulfilled governance aspirations of citizens are the main reason for the rise in coups in West Africa.
A wave of military coups has swept through the ECOWAS region between 2020 and 2022, with one unsuccessful in Guinea-Bissau.
Mali’s August 2020 coup was followed by a second military coup in May 2021, both led by Colonel Assimi Goita.
In Guinea, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya ousted long-serving President, Alpha Condé, on 05 September, 2021; while Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba led disgruntled officers to topple Head of State, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, in Burkina Faso on 24 January, 2022.
‘Military coups, regardless of the sincerity of their motivation, mark unacceptable breaks in democratic life with enormous risks of destabilization and the installation of cyclical crises, undermining the security and prospects of the people’, a statement from OSIWA read.
‘We call on the international community, the African Union, ECOWAS and the heads of state and government of member countries, the transitional authorities, political parties and civil society organisations, each in its own right, to work for a short, inclusive and effective transition in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.
‘We also encourage them to give priority to constructive dialogue and the involvement of civil society actors in the best interests of our populations and our states.
‘We recognize the difficulties that may exist. However, the disruption of the constitutional order and the isolation of these countries can in no way be solutions.
‘Regarding the situation in Guinea Bissau, we invite all institutional actors, civil society, the population and friends of Guinea Bissau to work for the strengthening and preservation of the constitutional order in the country’.
ECOWAS has suspended Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso from the 15-nation bloc and imposed sanctions on them; hitting Mali particularly hard last month after its junta failed to organise elections and proposed holding power until 2025.
The AU also suspended all three countries and slapped hard financial sanctions on coup plotters in Mali and Guinea.
OSIWA said it hopes that the reforms initiated by ECOWAS to better regulate democratic and constitutional life in the region will contribute to uphold democratic norms and principles.
Source: OSIWA
Photo source: ISS Africa
