West African leaders met Friday to examine the political situation in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, issuing warnings for failure to restore constitutional order following recent coups in the three countries.
At an extraordinary summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc in Ghana’s capital, Accra, the bloc’s chairman, Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. described the three countries as recalcitrant members of the bloc.
“Members of the authority of ECOWAS, I want to welcome your excellences back to Accra again to take stock of where we are with our three recalcitrant member states - Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso to make appropriate decisions on the way forward,” he said. “I want to thank you once again for the short notice you responded to the invitation to this meeting, once again a clear indication of your determination to assume your responsibilities for the security of ECOWAS”
The West African leaders gave Mali’s transitional authorities 12 - 16 months to arrange elections, according to the final communique issued after the meeting.
Mali witnessed two coups, in August 2020 and in May 2021.
In Guinea, the military overthrew president Alpha Conde in September.
The junta in Mali initially promised to hold elections in February but later changed that timeline, saying elections would be held in 2026, a move rejected by the ECOWAS.
The bloc invited the transitional president of Mali, Col. Assimi Goita, to attend the meeting Friday in person but he declined, preferring to attend virtually.
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