Politics

Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso forge new alliance as chances dim on rejoining ECOWAS

Published

2 months ago

July 7, 2024

Three West African nations under military rule—Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso—signed a confederation treaty on Saturday, demonstrating their will to forge on together outside of the regional political and economic bloc that has been pressuring them to revert to democratic governance.

The agreement, which occurred during the Alliance of Sahel States’ (AES) inaugural meeting, represents a closer alignment of the neighbours in the central Sahel region, which is riven by insurgency. In the three states between 2020 and 2023, juntas overthrew their governments through a series of coups and broke diplomatic and military ties with Western nations and regional allies.

The AES meeting was referred to be “the culmination of our determined common will to reclaim our national sovereignty” by General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of Niger’s military.

The formalization of the confederation treaty validates Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso’s rejection of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Its signature coincides with ECOWAS’s summit, which aims to convince the three to rethink their January decision to leave the union.

“Our peoples have irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS,” Tiani said in a speech. “It is up to us today to make the AES Confederation an alternative to any artificial regional group by building … a community free from the control of foreign powers.”

As it fights to limit a ten-year war with Islamist rebels and develop economies that are among the world’s poorest, it is unclear how closely the AES will coordinate political, economic, and defence objectives.

The three nations decided to form a combined force in March to address security challenges on their borders. The nations stated in a statement following the summit that they had decided to coordinate diplomatic efforts, establish an AES investment bank and stabilization fund, and combine their resources to launch initiatives in vital industries like mining, energy, and agriculture.

The heads of state “welcomed their irrevocable withdrawal without delay from ECOWAS,” it said.

ECOWAS has endeavoured diplomatically to discourage the trio of nations from abandoning the half-century-old relationship. Decades of regional integration will be reversed by the split, which also poses a risk of a messy detachment from trade and services flows worth around $150 billion annually.

The ECOWAS’s decision to impose harsh sanctions in response to the three coups and its unfulfilled threat to deploy force to restore constitutional government in Niger last year are linked to the falling out.

The regional group is under fire from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso for allegedly betraying its core principles and providing insufficient backing to counter Islamist insurgencies that have resulted in thousands of fatalities and forced over 3 million more to from their homes.

The three governments are cultivating stronger defence, diplomatic, and commercial connections with Russia at the expense of former colonial power France, regional heavyweight Nigeria, and the United governments. These policy changes are the result of the juntas’ policies in the central Sahel.

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Politics

Tunisian court mandates electoral commission to reinstate presidential contenders

Published

5 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The highest court in Tunisia has issued an order requiring the electoral commission to re-enter two candidates for an October presidential election, cautioning that not doing so might compromise the election’s credibility.

The Administrative Court’s decision was made in rising political unrest in the nation of North Africa, where opposition parties and civil society organisations are concerned that a rigged election could give President Kais Saied a second term.

In the largest demonstration against constraints on liberties and the undemocratic electoral environment in Tunisia in two years, thousands of Tunisians came to the streets on Friday. Among the shouts screamed by the demonstrators was “Out with dictator Saied.”

Tensions increased after the electoral commission, citing purported flaws in their candidacy forms, rejected the court’s decision earlier this month to restore the candidatures of Abdellaif Mekki, Mondher Znaidi, and Imed Daimi ahead of the contest on October 6.

The president himself appointed the committee’s members, and major parties and civil society organisations claimed that this meant the president was using the inquiry as a weapon against his opponents.

Regarding the charges, commission president Farouk Bouasker has stated that “the commission is the only constitutional body entrusted with the integrity of the election” and refuted them. However, the commission must carry out its mandate and, if needed, revise the election schedule, the court ruled on Saturday. It’s unclear if this entails delaying the election or prolonging the campaign.

“Otherwise it would lead to an illegal situation that conflicts with the electoral law and the transparency of the electoral process”, it said.

Following their filing of a new complaint against the commission’s ruling, the court requested that Znaidi and Mekki be allowed to participate in the race. Daimi, the third contender, hasn’t yet submitted a second appeal.

After winning a democratic election in 2019, Saied strengthened his hold on power and started governing by decree in 2021—a move that the opposition has called a coup.

Politics

Under their new coalition, Mali, Burkina, Niger to launch biometric passports

Published

6 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

As part of their departure from the West African bloc in favour of a new Sahel alliance, military authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger will implement new biometric passports, the countries’ leaders announced on Sunday.

Together, the three Sahelian neighbours run by juntas declared in January that they would be exiting the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), despite efforts by the organisation to convince them otherwise.

In July, the three West African nations signed a confederation treaty demonstrating their will to forge on together outside of the regional political and economic bloc that has been pressuring them to revert to democratic governance.

Earlier this month, Burkina Faso declared that it will no longer be issuing passports with the ECOWAS emblem.

“In the coming days, a new biometric passport of the AES (Alliance of Sahel States) will be put into circulation with the aim of harmonising travel documents in our common area and facilitating the mobility of our citizens throughout the world”, Malian junta leader Assimi Goita announced on Sunday evening.

On the eve of the decision to form their alliance, the foreign ministers of the three nations will meet on Monday. He made this statement beforehand.

In addition, Goita announced that they intended to open a common information channel “to foster a peaceful exchange of information among our three states.”

Meanwhile, ECOWAS had warned that the 400 million residents of the 49-year-old bloc would lose their freedom of movement and access to the common market if the three countries were to exit,

Their withdrawal coincides with their troops fighting militants associated with the Islamic State and al Qaeda, whose insurgencies have caused instability in the area for the previous ten years and pose a threat to those bordering West Africa.