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On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, ECOWAS leaders hastily scheduled a meeting at Peduase in Ghana. At that meeting, ECOWAS leaders gave Mali’s current military leaders a week to form a government in transition. The ultimatum stipulates that the president and prime minister of the transitional government must be civilians, and the nominations of these two key personalities must be made immediately.
ECOWAS leaders also decided that the transition period would be a maximum of 18 months, starting on the day of the meeting. Therefore, ECOWAS leaders ordered the new Malian leaders to hand over power to a civilian government in transition or face sanctions. Sanctions were immediately imposed on Mali that included the closure of all land and air borders, the freezing of all financial transactions, and the freezing of economic and trade flows between ECOWAS member states and Mali.
Ten days later, on Friday, September 25, 2020, a transitional government was formed with former Defense Minister and retired Colonel Bah N’Daw as the new transitional president, while Colonel Assimi Goita, head of the junta that organized the coup, he was installed as the new vice president of Mali. Then, on Sunday, September 27, 2020, former Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane was appointed prime minister. The three heads of government will lead the transitional government to an election in 18 months.
At first glance, this seems like a positive achievement by the leaders of the West African states, but beneath that, there is a ploy by the current leaders of West Africa to stay in power forever. Remember that ECOWAS boasts of some presidents who came to power through military coups or who refuse to leave power after serving their terms. These presidents want to abolish coups in the region so that they can hold onto power forever. They do not want to leave office through the ballot.
Most of the presidents of the fifteen states that make up ECOWAS were present, but I will focus on the records of just a few of them. By the time you read this article, you will know that the presidents of the ECOWAS member states do not want coups because some of them have decided to stay in power illegally and, sadly, the others look on with approval.
Consider the records of some of the leaders who discouraged military coups and threatened Mali’s new military leaders. Let’s start with President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe of the Republic of Togo, who has been president since 2005, a total of 15 years.
His father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, came to power in a military coup in 1967 and remained in power until his death in 2005. Thus, he ruled for 38 years. According to the Constitution of Togo, when a president dies, the president of the National Assembly must become acting president until elections are held. At the time of Eyadéma’s death, the president of the National Assembly, Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba, was out of the country and Faure Gnassingbé was hastily sworn in by the military as acting president.
It is an open secret that the military sent a message to Natchaba not to return to Togo. In fact, the African Union denounced Faure’s assumption of power as a military coup. The Gnassingbe, Eyadema and their son Faure forced a constitution that allows unlimited presidential terms for Togolese, and any Togolese who questions that constitution are brutalized. Like his father, only death or a military coup can remove Faure from power. Therefore, it is obvious why it is important for Faure to outlaw military coups in West Africa.
Next, let’s consider the record of the President Earl of Guinea. Guinea’s constitution allows a maximum of two terms. The end of President Conde’s two terms as president is just around the corner. To stay in power illegally, the 82-year-old president amended the nation’s constitution in a shady referendum.
According to him and his ruling party, since the country is governed by a new constitution, the two terms served by Conde are eliminated. His party has nominated him as its presidential candidate for the upcoming elections. This illegal imposition of Conde on Guinea has sparked protests and several people have been killed. For Conde, like Faure of Togo, only death or a military coup can remove him from power. Therefore, it is not surprising that he is at the forefront in discouraging military coups in West Africa.
A fledgling dictator in the West African region is President Alassane Ouattara of the Ivory Coast. Chaos is brewing in the Ivory Coast as incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, who has already served two constitutionally permitted terms, insists that he will seek re-election in October 2020. Ironically, the Ivory Coast was embroiled in a brief war when Ouattara’s predecessor refused to resign the presidency for Ouattara to be sworn in as the newly elected president.
That war claimed the lives of 3,000 Ivorians. Now, the 78-year-old Ouattara’s time as president is over and he wants to hold onto power illegally. The 3,000 Ivorians who died eight years ago to guarantee democracy in their country died in vain.
As expected, President Alassane Ouattara’s candidacy for a third term in office has been fraught with controversy. Opponents and legal experts point out that the Ivory Coast constitution limits the presidency to two terms. However, Ouattarra contends that because the constitution was amended in 2016, the term count should be reset to zero. Like Faure and Conde, only death or a military coup can remove Ouattara from power.
So far, we have not heard any condemnation from other West African leaders and they certainly have not imposed any sanctions to force Ouattara to do the right thing. It should not surprise us if the Ivorian army organizes a coup to eliminate Ouattara. If that were to happen, judging from the past, it should come as no surprise that West African leaders will impose sanctions on the Ivorians and the coup plotters.
Another country where ECOWAS has failed is Guinea Bissau. On December 29, 2019, the National Electoral Commission (the Electoral Commission) declared Umaro Sissoco Embalo the winner of the elections. Mr. Domingos Simões Pereira (known as DSP) challenged the results in the Supreme Court. At the end of February 2020, after a tour of several African countries where he has a source of supporters, Embalo organized his inauguration ceremony to mark the succession of José Mário Vaz.
Immediately afterwards, he moved to the presidential palace without paying attention to the fact that the Supreme Court had not issued a final judgment on the appeal filed by DSP. Thus, although neither the Supreme Court of Guinea-Bissau nor the parliament approved the act of official oath, Sissoco Embaló organized an alternative act of oath in a hotel in Bissau to announce himself as the legal president of Guinea-Bissau. . Several Guinea-Bissau politicians, including Prime Minister Aristides Gomes, have accused Sissoco Embaló of organizing a coup. Despite this controversial measure, on April 22, 2020, ECOWAS recognized Umaro Sissoco Embalo as President of Guinea Bissau.
It should be noted that the Supreme Court requested a recount but the National Electoral Commission did not comply. The ECOWAS published a statement that “Given the persistence of this blockade and after an in-depth analysis of the political situation in the country, the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government decided to recognize the victory of Mr. Umaro Sissoco Embalo.” Yes, ECOWAS declared a winner even though the case was in the Supreme Court. This is obviously causing problems in Guinea Bissau.
There is a saying that when persuasion fails, force must be applied. Personally, I do not encourage coups, but it appears in certain circumstances, for example, when a president refuses to leave office after his mandate and when Parliament, the [Supreme] The court and civil society are unwilling or unable to act in the public interest, so coups must be supported to eliminate them. In such a case, military intervention in West Africa could be equated with what John Lewis called “good problems.”
There would be no military coups in the West African region if our leaders respect the democratic rights of the people. Anything other than that is causing problems in the region. If ECOWAS wants to be respected, it should clean its house, it should insist on democracy in its member states. If ECOWAS wants to maintain its credibility, it must ensure that leaders do not impose themselves on the population.
Kwaku Obosu-Mensah
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