West African leaders have lifted sanctions imposed on Mali and Burkina Faso as reward for progress in their transition to democratic rule.
The decision was announced on Sunday, July 3rd, at the end of the latest heads of state summit of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
Mali, which plunged into this crisis in August 2020 after the ousting of the late president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, was slammed with heavy sanctions after the military failed to meet deadline imposed by the West African bloc to hold elections and transfer power to a civilian leader.
The latest development comes after progress in negotiations, following the transition government’s proposal of a 24-month transition plan. The Malians also published a new set of electoral laws and an election timetable.
Outgoing ECOWAS Commission President, Jean Claude Kassi Brou, told journalists shortly after a lengthy closed-door meeting by the leaders of the 16-member bloc that the sanctions on the landlocked nation would be lifted immediately.
This means that borders between Mali and its neighbors will be reopened and diplomats from ECOWAS countries will return to Bamako.
But Mr Brou said that individual sanctions targeting key members of the junta-led government seen as obstructing the process will remain.
Mali’s suspension from the bloc’s decision-making organs will also remain, until constitutional order is restored, Brou added.
In Burkina Faso, the ECOWAS leaders refrained from taking hash actions after the military leadership there promised to respect a 24-month transition timetable it recently issued.
The Burkinabe military in January 2022 ousted former President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who was accused of incompetence in handling nearly a decade of Islamist inspired insurgency in the country.
The Burkinabe military had proposed a 36-month transition timetable, which the ECOWAS leaders rejected.
Economic and financial sanctions imposed on the country for refusing to release the ousted president were also lifted, according to Mr Brou who is expected to leave office at the end of Sunday’s summit.
In Guinea, the regional leaders rejected a three-year transition timetable proposed by the Col. Mamady Doumbouya-led junta.
Doumbouya came to power in September 2021 after ousting Alpha Conde.
The ECOWAS leaders gave the junta up to the end of July to come up with an acceptable timetable or face economic sanctions.
