A supporter wearing a T-shirt showing Col. Assimi Goita, head of the junta that staged the Aug. 18 coup and now Mali’s interim president, in Bamako, Mali, Sept. 25, 2020 (AP photo).
ECOWAS Scores an Own Goal With Sanctions Against Mali
Chris Olaoluwa Ogunmodede Friday, Jan. 14, 2022
The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, has closed regional borders with Mali and slapped a new round of sanctions on Bamako, after the country’s interim military government sought to postpone elections it pledged to hold in February, as part of the country’s return to civilian rule following a 2020 military coup.
Sunday’s announcement followed an extraordinary summit of the bloc’s 15 leaders held in Accra to discuss a proposal by Mali’s provisional government for a five-year transition plan that would culminate with a presidential election scheduled for February 2026. That would be four years after the date Mali’s ruling junta initially agreed to with the West African regional group. ...