ECOWAS mission to Guinea postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus

The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo (photo), and his Ivorian counterpart Ouattara have decided to give up their trip to Guinea. AFP / Rodger Bosch

Text by: RFI Follow

The high-level mission of the Community of West African States which was to travel to Conakry on Tuesday March 17 for mediation with President Alpha Condé has been postponed sine die due to the epidemic. However, there is only one reported case, some note.

Publicity

Read more

Four heads of state were to make the trip: the Nigerian Muhammadu Buhari, the Ivorian Alassane Ouattara, the Nigerian Mouhamadou Issoufou and Nana Akufo Addo, the president of Ghana.

Their goal: to discuss the conditions of the Sunday elections, two polls contested by the opposition and civil society. Through this mission, the ECOWAS wanted once again to emphasize two points: cleaning up the electoral roll and including political opposition in the double ballot on Sunday. In the background, a red line not to be crossed: running for a possible third term.

► Read also: Guinea: the OIF report which points to the flaws in the electoral process

Everything was ready: the overflight and landing authorizations over the Guinean capital.

But the spread of the coronavirus epidemic has cooled the enthusiasm of the Ghanaian and Ivorian presidents, who both decided to abandon this project at the last minute. " It is a question of consistency with the strict measures announced internally to close our borders and our schools, " said an official in Abidjan.

At this stage, only one case has been reported in Guinea . " This is a minor problem ," said an official of the Guinean government, taken aback by this decision.

The dialogue should still continue, through the voice of the President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, present in Conakry since yesterday. " But the message will not have the same resonance as with heads of state, " laments a diplomat, who fears that the ECOWAS will intervene urgently to manage a possible political crisis, if the elections go wrong.

A few weeks ago, the withdrawal of ECOWAS observers prompted President Alpha Condé to postpone the elections .

Newsletter With the Daily Newsletter, find the headlines directly in your mailbox

Subscribe

Download the app

google-play-badge_FR

  • Guinea
  • Cedeao
  • Coronavirus

On the same subject

Double ballot in Guinea: the CENI plans to strike out 2.5 million voters

Coronavirus: Guinea has its first case