Guinea & Mali– The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) held an extraordinary meeting of heads of state on Sunday, November 7, in Accra, Ghana, “devoted to the evaluation of political developments in the Republic of Guinea and the Republic of Mali,” according to an Ecowas statement. “The Heads of State will take stock of the situation in the two member states and engage in discussions on the matter during this extraordinary summit,” the statement stated.
The meeting will be attended by Nana Akufo-Addo, the President of Ghana and current Chairman of ECOWAS, as well as his counterparts: Macky Sall of Senegal, Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, and Goodluck Jonathan, the ECOWAS mediator. In the afternoon, the other leaders of the member countries will join the proceedings. One of the primary topics to be considered at this special summit is the observance of deadlines established for the staging of presidential elections in both Bamako and Conakry that will lead to civilian administration.
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The military that seized power in both countries disbanded the government and institutions, as well as the constitutions. Following the September 5, 2021, coup in Guinea, ECOWAS issued targeted penalties on the perpetrators and called for elections within six months, calling for a “very quick” transition. ECOWAS also decided to place a travel ban on the country’s new leaders and their families, as well as freeze their financial assets. Guinea was expelled from the sub-regional organization, and a team was dispatched to Conakry to meet with the junta’s leader, Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, as well as Alpha Condé, who was deposed and detained on September 5.
Following the putsch on August 18, 2020, ECOWAS issued primarily economic measures and suspended Mali from the organization. These restrictions were lifted after the military, led by Colonel Assimi Gota, agreed to a maximum 18-month transition commencing in September 2020. Elections were set on February 27, 2022. The sub-regional organization demanded that the Malian military “strictly obey the transition timetable” towards the restoration of civilian authority at an extraordinary session on September 16 in Accra.
