Mali has been suspended from all ECOWAS activities by the Presidents of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Military commanders in the nation have also been urged to give over control to a civilian transition administration led by the Prime Minister.
This was said in a statement published during an emergency ECOWAS summit on Sunday, May 30, 2021 in Accra.
Shirley Ayorkor-Botchwey, Ghana’s Foreign Minister, told media that ECOWAS is dedicated to restoring peace and security in Mali.
Mali’s suspension from ECOWAS activities is effective immediately and will last until February 2022, according to Madam Ayorkor-Botchwey.
“The Heads of State have decided to exclude Mali from ECOWAS, and this decision [takes effect] immediately until the end of February 2022, when they must transfer over to a democratically elected government.”
“One of the choices made by the heads of state is to guarantee that a civilian Prime Minister is appointed in the next days to establish a transitional government for the remainder of the period.”
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Colonel Assimi Gota, the commander of Mali’s military coup, has been proclaimed interim president by the country’s Constitutional Court.
Last Wednesday, two days after taking power in Mali’s second coup in nine months, Col Gota proclaimed himself provisional President.
Last August, he spearheaded the first coup, in which the elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keta was deposed.
The ruling was made on Friday owing to a “vacancy in the presidency,” according to the court.
He backed President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane’s ouster, claiming that it was essential since they had failed to fulfill their responsibilities and were attempting to disrupt the country’s transition.
After a cabinet change that Col. Gota claimed he was not informed about, soldiers seized and held the two men.
Col. Gota has now pledged that a new Prime Minister would be selected in the next days, and that the election would go place as scheduled next year.
Source: CITINEWSROOM
