West African regional bloc ECOWAS hardened its stance on military-led Mali and Guinea, with new sanctions imposed to pressure the countries to honor return to democracy.
The ECOWAS “has decided to sanction all those implicated in the delay” in organizing elections set for February 27 in Mali, ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou told AFP after a summit of the 15-nation group in the Ghanaian capital Accra.
He said Mali had “officially written” to the president of Ghana, who holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, to inform him that the Sahel nation could not hold elections as planned.
Additionally, Mali’s junta previously expelled the ECOWAS special envoy, declaring him “persona non grata”.
In a final declaration following Sunday’s summit, ECOWAS said it “highly deplores the lack of progress” towards staging elections in Mali.
As for Guinea, where soldiers seized power on September 5, ECOWAS decided to uphold the country’s suspension from the bloc as well as sanctions against individual junta members and their families.
It also reiterated its demand for the “unconditional release” of president Alpha Conde, 83, who has been under house arrest since his ouster.
In the final declaration, it praised the adoption of a “transition charter”, the appointment of a civilian prime minister and the formation of a transitional government — echoing Brou following an ECOWAS delegation to the country in October.
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