Ghana’s foreign minister announced that the West African Bloc (ECOWAS) will meet today to discuss possible next measures after Guinea’s president was removed in a coup a month away. Following a day of meetings with lawmakers and political party leaders, the army authorities met with the country’s civic society on Wednesday.
Following Alpha Conde’s overthrow by special forces last week, ECOWAS had already suspended Guinea, calling it an “obvious violation” of the group’s regional charter. There, they met with coup leader Lieutenant. Colonel. Mamady Doumbouya visited Conde and demanded that the transition be governed by citizens instead of the military.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwe, who headed the trip to Guinea said Today’s meeting will be to evaluate the delegation’s conclusions and determine future actions for Guinea’s return to constitutional authority.
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She told reporters on Wednesday that the meeting will have a single agenda, and that she would give the findings of the ECOWAS high-level mission to Guinea at the summit. According to Botchwey, Guinea’s coup leaders are unlikely to be in a position to establish a schedule for restoration to democratic rule at this point.
What the leaders decide on Guinea will depend on whether it’s a month, six months, or a year from now as well as how they envision the transition taking place and how long it should last,” she said. It became increasingly difficult for Conde to avoid criticism following the imprisonment of many opposition activists following a disputed election last year.
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As a result of the coup in Guinea, there are fears of a democratic backslide in West Africa and comparisons to Mali, which has experienced two army uprisings since August of last year. Ecowas placed economic sanctions on Mali last year, but they were lifted after Mali’s ruling military promised to restore civilian authority.