The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appointed Saturday, June 4, at the end of its 6th extraordinary summit held in Accra (Ghana), the former Nigerien president, Mahamadou Issoufou, mediator for the Burkina Faso.
The Heads of State of the member countries of the organization gave it the mission of “facilitating dialogue between all stakeholders”, according to the press release published after the meeting.
There is no doubt that this dialogue will mainly concern the question of the duration of the transition period which « concerns » ECOWAS, concerned with a « return to constitutional order as soon as possible ». While the Ouagadougou authorities have set a duration of 36 months, the West African organization has asked that an « acceptable transition schedule » be finalized.
Through the discussions that will continue, the organization hopes to “reach an agreement” with the military junta in power in the country. The case of Burkina will again be on the agenda of the next ordinary ECOWAS summit to be held on July 3.
The task does not look easy for Mahamadou Issoufou. But the latter can already be comforted for the confidence he would enjoy with the political class of Burkina. The former Nigerien president is, indeed, highly regarded because of the many actions he had to take in favor of democracy. The most remarkable being his refusal to run for a third term which had to go through the constitutional revision.
This recognition has also manifested itself internationally. In June 2021, Issoufou received the 2020 Ibrahim Prize for leadership excellence in Africa. Apart from the reward for the laureate, this Prize allows the African continent to benefit from the experience and wisdom of its exceptional leaders by giving them the opportunity to pursue civic action on the continent once their national mandate completed.
By OMA Newsletter N° 730 of 06/06/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
