ECOWAS heads of state continue demanding restoration of civilian power in Mali
Bamako, Mali, (PANA) - The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting in Accra, Ghana, Tuesday insisted on a transition government in Mali chaired by a civilian president and prime minister, reliable sources told PANA here.
According to the same sources, the sub-regional organisation however accepted the duration of an 18-month transition as against the 12 months it had demanded during the 57th Conference of Heads of State held on 9 September in the Nigerien capital, Niamey.
The summit was convened by the Chairman of ECOWAS and President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and attended by Presidents S.E. Patrice Talon of Benin, Roch Marc Christian Kabore of Burkina Faso, Jorge Carlos Fonseca of Cabo Verde, and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire.
Also attending were Presidents Adama Barrow of The Gambia, Alpha Conde of Guinea, Maro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau, George Manneh Weah of Liberia, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria.
The rest were Macky Sall of Senegal, Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone and Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe of Togo, as well as Colonel Assimi Goita, chairman of the National Committee for the People’s Salvation (CNPS), the ruling junta, which took over power on 18 August from Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, former Malian president.
The ECOWAS leaders reiterated their demand for the restoration of civilian rule in Mali as the only condition to lift the sanctions imposed on the country.
The sources said exchanges between the ECOWAS presidents with the junta enabled the heads of state to appreciate the political situation in Mali and the wishes of the people.
- 0 - PANA GT/BEH/MSA/RA 15Sep2020
