Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has lifted the economic and financial sanctions imposed on Mali, after its military rule.

ECOWAS Commission President, Jean Claude Kassi Brou told a news conference that the sanctions will be lifted immediately. This comes days after the country came out with a scheduled time table for general elections.

“Borders with Mali will reopen after regional reps proposed a 24-month transition to democracy and published a new electoral law.”
Jean Claude Kassi Brou

The bloc imposed stiff sanctions on Mali in January after the junta said it would not organise democratic elections the following month as initially planned. Meanwhile, Diplomats, will return to Bamako as part of lifting of sanctions.

“However, the heads of state decided to maintain individual sanctions, and the suspension of Mali from ECOWAS, until the return to constitutional rule.”
Jean Claude Kassi Brou

The individual sanctions targeted members of the ruling junta and the transitional council.

The West African leaders meeting in Accra also accepted a pledge from the junta that seized power in Burkina Faso in January to restore constitutional order in 24 months.

Kassi Brou noted that after a lengthy discussion with the coup leaders in Burkina Faso, a new proposal for a 24-month transition was more acceptable, after the heads of state rejected a proposed 36-month transition.

The Heads of State appointed Benin’s former President Yayi Boni as a new mediator and urged the Guinea junta to work with him and quickly propose a new timetable. “Beyond that, economic sanctions will be imposed,” Kassi Brou said.

Sanctions hit Mali hard

The sanctions have badly hit the country, whose economy is already under severe strain from a decade-long jihadist insurgency.

Mali, which underwent coups in August 2020 and May 2021, has defaulted on over $300 million (€287 million) of its debt due to the sanctions.

The sanctions also cut the conflict-ravaged nation off from the regional financial market and the regional central bank.

After months of talks, Malian authorities on Wednesday approved a plan to hold presidential elections in February 2024.

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The vote will be preceded by a referendum on a revised constitution in March 2023 and legislative elections in late 2023.

What’s the decision on Guinea and Burkina Faso?

ECOWAS leaders, who met in Ghana, also assessed the political situation in Guinea and Burkina Faso, where military coups took place in September 2021 and January this year, respectively.

Kassi Brou disclosed that the leaders accepted a pledge from the junta, that seized power in Burkina Faso in January, to restore constitutional order within 24 months. “Economic and financial sanctions on Burkina Faso were also lifted,” he said.

But ECOWAS rejected a three-year transition proposed by coup leaders who seized power in Guinea in September. The leaders called on Guinea’s junta to propose a new timeline by the end of July or face economic sanctions.