Abuja, 4 July 2022 (TDI): The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gathered in Abuja to restore civilian rule in African states.
These include Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Due to the absence of civilian rule in Mali, ECOWAS lifted the economic sanctions that were imposed.
Several West African leaders lifted the sanctions on Mali’s military rule. They accepted the aspects that were given in the proposal for the civilian elections. The civilian elections are expected to take place in 2024.
These sanctions were removed after the proposal given by the military regarding the 24 month transition.
The transition is comprised of 24 months from military rule to democratic rule by electoral law.
Initially, the sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States on Mali were stiff in nature.
Restoration of civilian government in Mali
During the conference, ECOWAS President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou stated that borders with Mali will be opened.
President of ECOWAS, Jean Claude Kassi Brou stated during conference that borders with Mali will be opened.
The president reaffirmed that diplomats will be returned to Bamako and all sanctions will be removed immediately.
In spite of the uplift of sanctions by the bloc, individual sanctions will be maintained, as alluded to by the ECOWAS Commission President.
Additionally, Mali will be suspended from ECOWAS until the country returns to constitutional rule.
In light of this, the sanctions imposed on Mali led to an economic and humanitarian crisis. The sanctions fueled the insurgencies of several jihadists in the country.
As a result, Mali defaulted on more than $300 million of its debt. This has resulted in the disintegration of Mali from the regional central bank and financial markets.
According to Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to Mali, last week Mali had made enormous progress despite the imposed sanctions.
The top diplomat of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, also stated that the current political developments are moving Mali towards sanctions.
After several months of negotiations, Malian authorities on Wednesday approved a plan to hold presidential elections in February 2024.
The method of voting will be a referendum based on a revised constitution in March 2023 and legislative elections in 2023.
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