The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Monday proposed a four-point plan to resolve Mali’s ongoing political crisis. It urged the proposed plan to be implemented within 10 days and recommended sanctions against anyone standing in the way, reported Reuters.
In a statement issued after a virtual meeting on Monday, the heads of the West African countries bloc ECOWAS called for the unity government to be “established rapidly” and urged the opposition to be part of that unity government.
The people of Mali have been continuing with mass protests since June demanding President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s resignation. Keita, who has been in power since 2013, is dogged by rising insecurity, a deep economic crisis and accusations that the results of long-delayed legislative elections, held in March and April, was altered.
The ECOWAS said it is important to respect the country’s democratic constitution and asked a commission “to consider sanctions against all those who act contrary to the normalisation process of the crisis”.
The bloc’s four-point plan recommended the 31 parliament members whose elections were contested to step down and that by-elections are held. It also called for an inquiry into the deaths of 11 people who were killed during anti-government protests earlier this month when protests turned into violent clashes, in the worst bout of political unrest Mali has seen in years. It called for its plan to be implemented within 10 days.
The M5-RFP opposition coalition, also known as the June 5 Movement, that has led the anti-Keita protests in Mali, seemed unimpressed by the proposals.
“We take note, but we really believe that this is not the will of the people, it is not what we expect,” said coalition spokesman Nouhoum Togo.
Togo said the opposition coalition group was in the process of reviewing the recommendations.
