The heads of state in West Africa are holding an extra-ordinary summit on Friday in the Ghanaian capital of Accra.
The ECOWAS leaders will be discussing the political situation in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, where soldiers recently seized power.
These three countries are already under sanctions after their coup leaders failed to comply with ECOWAS directives to quickly return the countries to civilian rule.
There have been ongoing negotiations to resolve the crisis in the three countries. ECOWAS in a statement said the heads of state will be considering and discussing reports on recent political developments in these member states.
In the case of Mali, the political crisis there remains unresolved after the coup makers failed to agree on a new poll date.
Mali has been under harsher sanctions from ECOWAS and the European Union after interim President Assimi Goïta and his team prolonged the transitional period.
There were plans for elections this year but the coup leaders wanted at least four years in power which was rejected by ECOWAS leaders.
New sanctions on the country sparked protests from citizens after their leaders denounced the sanctions as Western-inspired.
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan who is the mediator for the Mali political crisis this weekend ended a two-day visit to Mali.
In an earlier statement from ECOWAS it said its mediator left Mali without any agreement on a date for elections to return the country to civilian rule.
Mr. Jonathan was hoping to secure a date for free elections after rejecting the initial proposed five years from the coup leaders considered too long.
Mali’s military leaders carried out a coup in August 2020, deposing then President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
A transition team led by the military has been ruling the country since then and was given a deadline of February 2022 to hold fresh elections.
Mali’s coup leaders and Ecowas fail to reach a deal on poll date
Source: Africafeeds.com
