ECOWAS slaps sanctions on Mali leaders over stalled elections

Heads of State from the West African regional bloc Ecowas met over the weekend to discuss political developments in suspended Mali and Guinea.

At the end of the extraordinary summit, they imposed travel bans and financial assets freeze on specific leaders of Mali’s transitional government and members of their families.

The reason for the sanction is the failure of the government to abide by a timetable to return the country to constitutional rule by February 2022.

The government led by Colonel Assimi Goita had informed ECOWAS that the early 2022 date was not feasible for elections to be held.

Goita led two coup in the space of a year, first overthrowing Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s government amid widespread protests. He subsequently took the role of vice-president of a transitional government led by former defense minister Bah Ndaw.

He staged a second coup by removing Ndaw after disagreements.

source: Ghana Web