The ECOWAS Ordinary Summit will take place on July 3, 2022 in Accra, Ghana. The political situation in Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea will be the main points of this meeting which moves the authorities in all three countries.
A few hours before the ordinary ECOWAS summit, on July 3, 2022, the military powers in Ouagadougou, Bamako and Conakry are busy responding to ECOWAS requests. It is the ultimate summit for each country.
ECOWAS had given the date of April 25, 2022 to Burkina Faso to provide it with an acceptable timetable for the Transition. However, Burkina had requested additional time to continue its consultations, according to ECOWAS.
The extraordinary ECOWAS summit on June 4, 2022 did not announce action against the three countries. The heads of state had decided to take the measures (sanctions) at the next summit on July 3, 2022.
Race against time
No country wants to be punished by ECOWAS sanctions. The socio-political situation is already tense in all three countries. Every leader works to not have his people on his back.
In such a short time, Mali had its electoral code adopted and even defined the missions of the authority responsible for organizing the elections. Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop immediately met the diplomatic corps in Bamako to present the evolution of the Transition and the efforts of his country.
The ECOWAS mediator, Goodluck Jonathan multiplies the trips to Bamako for the discussions. No rest. Everyone must succeed in their mission.
Mali had hoped for the lifting of the ECOWAS embargo against his country on June 4, but alas! Despite the decision of the WAEMU Court to suspend the execution, nothing has been done. The weight of the sanctions weighs on Mali and he hopes that this summit will be one of his relief.
Burkina has not yet received any sanctions and that’s good. But the country runs risks if at the next summit, it does not manage to present a Transition timetable to the Heads of State.
What makes run today the authorities of the Transition. On Wednesday, June 29, 2022, the Prime Minister immediately met the political actors after the Council of Ministers. Objective? give them information on the timetable for the elections.
They were told that the elections will be held in February 2025. A « unilateral » decision that some political parties do not accept. It is obvious that this way of summoning politicians by « SMS » less than a week from the summit is just to legitimize a tailor-made timetable.
The former ruling party, the People’s Movement for Progress (MPP) and the « Together for Faso » alliance quickly rejected this timetable.
The ECOWAS mediator for Burkina Faso, Mahamadou Issoufou, announced him in Ouagadougou on July 1, 2022. Certainly only to refine the final adjustments and the line of defense at the summit of July 3 to come.
In Guinea, the fear is not as perceptible, but there is diplomatic work in progress. Foreign Minister Dr. Morissanda Kouyaté has made several visits to Heads of State to present and defend the ongoing Transition efforts. He visited this month of June in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Ghana.
The country would be ready to accept the appointment of a mediator, which it had officially refused at ECOWAS.
Heads of State are also preparing for the ECOWAS summit
The Heads of State are not to be outdone behind the scenes of this ECOWAS summit. The positions are decided between the lifting of sanctions and the taking or tightening of sanctions.
Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum was in Abidjan a few days ago for an official visit. On the menu of this visit, there was the management of Transitions and the ECOWAS summit in good place.
Alassane Ouattara flew to France. From Paris, he will go directly to the ECOWAS summit in Accra.
Togolese President Faure Gnasingbe is working to obtain the lifting of ECOWAS sanctions against Mali. He was appointed by the power of Bamako to play the good offices with his peers.
Yaovi AGBEGNIGAN
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