West African leaders are meeting this Sunday, July 3 in Ghana to review their plan of action against the military juntas that recently grabbed power by force in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
Accoding to political pundits, these ECOWAS leaders will be discussing on either Lifting, maintaining or tightening sanctions.
In particular they will decide on Mali, which has suffered since January 9 from severe commercial and financial retaliation measures, and which recently accepted the prerequisites essential to their lifting.
Observers say, the decision on the lifting of the embargo on commercial and financial transactions is eagerly awaited in Mali, where negotiations between the junta and ECOWAS have been going on for months. Mediator Goodluck Jonathan, former president of Nigeria, came to Bamako last week.
The Mali authorities announced on Wednesday an electoral calendar fixing the presidential election in February 2024, the constitutional referendum in March 2023, and the legislative elections between October and November 2023. It completes the adoption, on June 17, of a new electoral law and the establishment of a commission responsible for drafting the new Constitution.
Burkina Faso and Guinea will also be at the center of attention
The two countries are currently only suspended from ECOWAS bodies. But the juntas in place intend to stay there for three years and expose their country to tougher sanctions.
Guinea this week waged an intense diplomatic campaign to appease West African leaders and avoid further sanctions. The Guinean authorities had aroused the ire of its neighbors by enacting a transition period of 36 months. A delay described as “unthinkable” by the Senegalese head of state Macky Sall, current president of the African Union. “ECOWAS will have to take action,” he said.
Transitional Prime Minister Mohamed Béavogui received the United Nations Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, on Saturday. Guinea’s message is to reassure “the brothers of ECOWAS” about the country’s commitment to leading a peaceful and inclusive transition, the government stressed.
In Burkina Faso, ECOWAS has appointed former Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou as mediator.
“We are on the way to compromise” with this country, a diplomat from the sub-region told media. On a visit to Ouagadougou on Saturday, Mahamadou Issoufou hailed the military’s “openness to dialogue” and said he had “discussed the transition timetable” presented to political leaders on Wednesday.
The Burkinabè authorities are planning the dates of December 24, 2024 for a constitutional referendum and February 25, 2025 for the holding of legislative and presidential elections.
ECOWAS, which has seen successive coups by colonels and lieutenant-colonels, is increasing summits, mediations and pressure to accelerate the return of civilians to the leadership of these countries.
However, the last summit to date, on June 4, had given birth to a mouse: no decision had been taken and ECOWAS had given itself one more month to negotiate.
