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FinalCall.com News
World News
ECOWAS suspends Guinea pending elections
By Brian E. Muhammad
Updated Jan 28, 2009 - 8:57:00 AM
(FinalCall.com) - A Jan. 10 decision in Abuja, Nigeria revoked Guinea’s membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) pending elections. The organization held an extraordinary summit of heads of states and government to discuss the situation in Guinea and the country’s current standing in the organization.
ECOWAS joined the mounting chorus of pressure from the international community for the military junta to step down and restore constitutional rule. The African Union suspended Guinea from its membership on Dec. 29 and the European Union condemned the coup on Dec. 30.
Members of Guinea’s military took power on Dec. 23 in a bloodless coup following the death of longtime dictator Lansana Conte, who ruled the country for 24 years.
The suspension was announced by ECOWAS President Dr. Mohammed ibn Chambas in a communiquè read at the end of the one-day conference.
The communiquè in part outlined the parameters of the suspension such as barring the country from key decision-making meetings of heads of state and government and ministry level sessions. It also committed to work with a Guinea transition back to democratic rule by assisting to establish a National Transitional Council made up of both civilians and military with legislative powers to move the process forward.
Rejecting the junta’s promised date of holding elections in December 2010, ECOWAS demanded that free and fair elections are held sometime in 2009. The 15-nation regional bloc pledged to help facilitate voter registration drives and organize the use of voter identification cards for a transparent election.
ECOWAS also agreed to leave the door open for constructive dialogue and continued communication with the National Council for Democracy and Development, the ruling military junta.
The emergency summit was insisted upon by Nigerian President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, the current chairman of ECOWAS. The urgency to hold the conference was viewed by some observers as a move to unify the regional response to the coup and counter the position of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade who encouraged the international community to wait, give the junta a chance and let the Guinean people decide.
Days after the takeover, the National Council for Democracy and Development invited and met with the National Council of Civil Society Organizations, political parties, trade unions, religious leaders, and the media to solicit ideas, and proposals to move the country forward.
The handling of the coup became a political thorn in the side of African democracy because the National Council for Democracy and Development took power by force, albeit the response from the masses of people on the streets in Guinea indicated they supported the change.
In 2007, Guinea security forces opened fire on citizens protesting for an end to corruption and dictatorial rule under the late dictator. Some members of civil society say corruption is deeply rooted and includes members of the government Mr. Conte left behind.
“The military leader, Camara has simply said out loud what Guineans have been saying among themselves for years,” said Cisse Kabinet, natural resources program officer at CECIDE, a non-governmental organization in Conakry, to IRIN news.
However at a pre-meeting of ECOWAS foreign ministers leading up to the Summit of heads of states, the “Guinea debacle” was described as a wake-up call and a test of democratic gains made in Africa that cannot be taken for granted.
“There is no patriotic coup as distinct from an unpatriotic coup. The ECOWAS protocols we are all parties to leave no room for these distinctions,” said Chief Ojo Maduekwe, the Nigerian minister of foreign affairs.
The ECOWAS protocol calls for zero tolerance for power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means.
According to an IRIN story, with respect to world opinion against the military junta, some people in Guinea expressed that the condemnation is irrational and hypocritical.
“We have been sounding the alarm about lack of rights, lack of laws, a lack of democracy in Guinea for years,” Bakary Fofana, vice-president of the National Council of Civil Society Organizations told the news service.
