ECOWAS issues ultimatum to Malian junta to name civilian President and Prime Minister
Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to the military junta in Mali to appoint, no later than 15 September, the President of the transition and his Prime Minister who must both be civilians.
Concluding their 57th session in Niamey, Niger, the heads of state also maintained economic sanctions against Mali and against the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), the military which took power after overthrowing President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
ECOWAS has also maintained the one-year deadline for transition and beyond this date, several international institutions are in danger of leaving Mali, dragging the country into huge socioeconomic difficulties.
This first physical meeting of the Heads of State and Government since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic made it possible to take stock of the political, security and economic situation, the examination of reports on the state of the community, the regional security action plan, the ECOWAS monetary cooperation programme and the situation of the Covid-19.
At the end of the proceedings, outgoing Chairman of the ECOWAS Conference of Heads of State and Government, Mahamadou Issoufou handed over the baton to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo for a one-year term.
President Akufo-Addo thanked his counterparts and congratulated his predecessor for the remarkable work accomplished during his term of office, marked by upheavals that he was able to manage.
He asked his peers to assist him in accomplishing the mission entrusted to him, listing the challenges of security and political issues, namely the organisation of elections in the region, combating the coronavirus pandemic, the regional single currency and the African Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).
-0- PANA SA/JSG/BBA/AR 8Sept2020
