ECOWAS envoys urge Malian govt. to organize new elections in constituencies whose legislative election results were disputed
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Emissaries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), at the end of their mission in Mali to find a solution to the socio-political crisis in that country, have asked the Malian government to organize new elections in constituencies whose legislative election results have been disputed.
The ECOWAS team says authorities should reconsider the results of all the constituencies, as the Constitutional Court judgment on them was the basis of the current socio-political tension in Mali.
In addition, the mission specifically insisted on the need to work for the re-establishment of a climate of renewed confidence between the Malian parties, to avoid violence as a means of crisis resolution, to dialogue and preserve the Institutions of the Republic, in order to maintain the stability of the country and avoid institutional chaos with unpredictable and disastrous consequences.
The ECOWAS emissaries also recommended setting up a consensual government of national unity, taking into account the recommendations of the Inclusive National Dialogue (IND), to accelerate the implementation of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, resulting from the Algiers process, signed in May-June 2015 between the Malian government, the armed groups of the North and the international community.
The peace deal is expected, among other things, to achieve a definitive peace in Mali, to resolutely pursue the implementation of the conclusions of the IND, to implement the planned reforms concerning the Constitution and the Electoral Code and to envisage a rereading of the texts governing the Constitutional Court.
A mechanism for monitoring the implementation of decisions and recommendations will be put in place, with the participation of the ECOWAS Commission.
Held in December 2019 in Bamako, the IND brought together all of Mali's protagonists to find a solution to the multiple crises (security, institutional, economic, social) that the country is going through.
At the end of the meeting, strong resolutions and recommendations were made to the government, including the organization of legislative elections, the redeployment of the administration and the reconstituted military throughout the territory, the organization of a constitutional referendum and amendments to certain articles of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.
To date, only legislative elections have been held. The rest of the recommendations are either timidly running, or just not being done.
From June 18 to 20, on the instructions from the Nigerien president and current president of ECOWAS, Mahamadou Yssoufou, a ministerial delegation from the subregional organization went to Bamako to assess the socio-political situation of Mali.
During its stay, the ministerial delegation was received in audience by the Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Kéita, and its Prime Minister, Boubou Cissé.
It also met with representatives of the June 5 Movement - Rally of the Patriotic Forces (M5-RFP), which initiated the protest against President Keita, Imam Mahmoud Dicko, main leader of the protest, the presidential majority in Parliament, the Framework for action, mediation and monitoring of religious denominations and civil society organizations, the Network of Women Parliamentarians, the Convergence of Republican Forces and a delegation of Ambassadors accredited to Mali.
The ECOWAS mission was led by the Nigerien Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and African Integration, Ibrahim Yacoubou. Other members were the President of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, Kalla Ankourao, the Ivorian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Coulibali, the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou, and the ECOWAS Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Francis Béhanzin.
-0- PANA GT/JSG/KND/VAO 20June2020
