THE Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on Sunday, suspended the Republic of Mali until February 2022.
Gnbnews explain the reasons for the suspension.
Leaders of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held an emergency summit in Ghana’s capital, Accra on Sunday to agree to a response to the Malian military’s topping of a president and prime minister for the second time in nine months.
The decision to suspend Mali was reached on Sunday during an Extra-Ordinary meeting to review the crisis in the country.
According to ECOWAS, following the report presented by Jonathan, the member states decided to suspend Mali from its institution.
In nine months, there have been two coup d’etats in Mali.
Speaking after the meeting, Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway said Mali’s suspension “from ECOWAS takes immediate effect until the deadline of the end of February 2022”, when the country’s interim leaders “are supposed to hand over to a democratically elected government”.
There was no immediate response from Goita, who attended the summit.
The 38-year-old special forces commander was one of several colonels who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last year. He also ordered the arrests last Monday of interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, hours after a cabinet reshuffle that left out two members of the military.
Goita, who was Ndaw’s former deputy, justified his actions by saying there was discord within the transitional government and that he was not consulted, per the transitional charter, when the new cabinet was chosen.
Ndaw and Ouane resigned on Wednesday while still in detention and were later released to house arrest.
Earlier in August 2020, Former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had been detained by military personnel and forcefully made to resign.
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Before his resignation, there had been demonstrations across the country as citizens trooped out to protest against Mali’s bad economy and corruption in Keita’s government.
Following Keita’s exit, an interim and transitional government was constituted through the intervention of ECOWAS.
The interim government brought in President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, who were to ensure transitional government by February 2022.
However, eight months into Ndaw and Ouane-led transitional government, the military, again, staged another coup that led to the resignation of Malian interim leaders, upsetting the country’s March to civilian rule.
The second coup was carried out by Assimi Goïta, a colonel in the Malian military, who had also led the coup against Keita.
Goita on Wednesday declared himself the interim president of Mali after the resignation of the transitional government.
After the repeated coup, ECOWAS has now decided that it is time to suspend Mali from the institution.
ECOWAS also decided that it was important for Mali to respect the democratic process for ascending to power, in conformity with the 2001 ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance as well. The group condemned actions that led to ongoing instability in the country.
It also urged that a new civilian prime minister be nominated with immediate effect, adding that a new inclusive government should be formed to proceed with the transition programme.
ECOWAS further stated that an earlier decision made in Accra for a transition period of 18 months should be maintained, meaning that the date of 27th February 2022 already announced for the presidential election should be maintained.
During the election, ECOWAS said the head of the transition, the vice president and the prime minister of the transition should not, under any circumstance, be candidates for the forthcoming presidential election.
