The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) hopes Mali’s transitional authorities would fix a date for the election before the end of this year, reported Reuters.
ECOWAS envoy and former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan made the remarks after a meeting with the interim leaders in Mali.
Jonathan led an ECOWAS delegation that visited the Malian capital, Bamako, to assess the progress of a promised election following a military coup in August 2020.
The ECOWAS suspended and imposed sanctions on Mali after two military coups in August 2020 and May 2021. The bloc has threatened to impose more economic sanctions on the country if no concrete progress is made by the end of this year.
He told reporters that the meeting with interim president Colonel Assimi Goita went very well.
“We hope that, by the end of the year, all the decisions, including recommendations and an electoral calendar for the continuation of events in Mali, will be released,” the ECOWAS envoy said.
He added that he will make another visit to Mali in January to check the progress.
Mali is currently undergoing an 18-month political transition that started on September 15. The transitional body had previously said the election could be delayed by a few weeks or months from the February 2022 deadline, due to security concerns.
Earlier this month, Colonel Assimi Goita, who is the head of Mali‘s transitional government, promised ECOWAS that he would provide an election timetable by January 2022.
He justified his decision to postpone the election and hold a national consultation which he said was necessary for achieving peace and stability in the country.
Goita came out as a strongman leader after a coup that ousted former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August this year.
In related news, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed Mali among other topics in a telephonic conversation on Tuesday.
