Credit: ecowas.int/  The Economic Community of West African States, also known as ECOWAS, is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. 

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) welcomed the  release of Mali’s ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and agreed the country’s transitional government is to last only one year.  ECOWAS also demanded elections be held  within 12 months.  The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc  held an extraordinary summit Friday to propose measures to help resolve the escalating political crisis in Mali following a military coup that forced President Keïta to resign August 18.  At the  conclusion of the video summit,  ECOWAS  called on the miliaty junta “to initiate a civil transition immediately” in Mali.  Following the military coup,  ECOWAS  moved to suspend Mali from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies with immediate effect, in accordance with the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, until the effective restoration of constitutional order.   ECOWAS further decided to close all land and air borders as well as stop all financial, economic and trade flows and transactions between Member States and Mali, except for basic essentials, drugs and other supplies and equipment for the fight against COVID-19, petroleum products and electricity. Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou, who is the chair of  ECOWAS, said sanctions would be “gradually lifted depending on the implementation” of the bloc’s requests.  

Credit: ECOWAS /    H.E. Issoufou Mahamadou, President of Republic of Niger and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government , Ouagadougou,  Burkina Faso,  14th September 2019.

Mali’s ousted President Keïta was released  from detention this week after being arrested during the military coup. A group of military officers, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), has controlled the West African country after the mutineers detained Keïta at gunpoint and forced him to resign.  Anti-government protesters had been holding massive protests calling on President Keïta to resign during the past months. Protesters accused Keïta of stealing a parliamentary election in March and installing his own candidates.