1. The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held an extraordinary session on 8 September 2021, by videoconference, under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana and current Chairperson of the Authority, to consider the political situation in Guinea and review the political transition in Mali.

2. The following Heads of State and Government or their duly mandated representatives were present at the session:
– H.E. Mr. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of Burkina Faso
– H.E. Mr. Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
– H.E. Mr. Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of the Gambia
– H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana
– H.E. Mr. Úmaro Sissoco Embaló, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau
– H.E. Mr. George Manneh Weah, President of the Republic of Liberia
– H.E. Mr. Mohamed Bazoum, President of the Republic of the Niger
– H. E. Mr. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal
– H. E. Mr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone
– H. E. Mr. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of the Togolese Republic
– H.E. Mr. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
– H.E. Mr. Aurélien Agbenonci, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Benin
– H.E. Mr. Rui Alberto de Figueiredo Soares, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration of the Republic of Cabo Verde

3. Also present was H.E. Mr. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, President of the ECOWAS Commission. H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and H.E. Mr. Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, also participated in the session.

4. The Heads of State and Government took note of the memorandum submitted by the Chairperson of the Commission on the political situation in the Republic of Guinea, where a coup d’état had been carried out on 5 September 2021 by members of the Special Forces Group of the Republic of Guinea, led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya.

5. The Heads of State also took note of the report of the monitoring mission on the political transition in the Republic of Mali, submitted by the mediator, H.E. Mr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

6. They commended the quality of the memorandum and the report, and the relevance of the recommendations contained therein.

7. Following its deliberations, the Authority endorsed the main recommendations contained in the memorandum and the report, and decided as follows:

Political situation in the Republic of Guinea

8. The Authority is deeply concerned about political developments in the Republic of Guinea following the coup d’état of 5 September 2021, and their consequences for regional peace and stability. It reaffirms its steadfast opposition to any political change by unconstitutional means and condemns the coup in the strongest possible terms.

9. The Authority demands that the safety of the President of the Republic and Head of State, H.E. Mr. Alpha Condé, and of all those arrested, be ensured, and that they be immediately and unconditionally released. It holds the coup plotters, who are members of the Comité national de rassemblement et de développement (National Committee for Reconciliation and Development), individually and collectively responsible for the safety of Mr. Condé and those arrested.

10. The Authority calls for constitutional order to be restored immediately, and calls upon the defence and security forces to maintain a republican stance.

11. The Authority expresses its solidarity with the people of Guinea and affirms its determination to take all necessary measures and actions to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Guinea, in accordance with the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. To that end, the Authority hereby decides as follows:

(a) Guinea is suspended from all ECOWAS bodies with immediate effect;

(b) A high-level ECOWAS mission will immediately be sent to the Republic of Guinea to assess the situation;

(c) The Authority will review the situation in light of developments in the Republic of Guinea and the report of the assessment mission.

12. The Authority calls upon the African Union and the United Nations to endorse the decisions taken in paragraphs 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the present final communiqué.

13. The Authority decides to remain seized of the matter.

Political transition in the Republic of Mali

14. The Authority considered the report submitted by the mediator, H.E. Mr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, following his mission to Mali from 5 to 7 September 2021 to assess the transition process, in particular preparations for the elections planned for February 2022.

15. The Authority welcomes the relative calm observed in the country and takes note of the renewed commitment of the transitional authorities to respecting the planned duration of the transition. The Authority also takes note of the lifting of the restrictions related to the former President of the transitional Government, H.E. Mr. Bah N’Daw, and the former Prime Minister, Mr. Moctar Ouane. It calls upon the current President to remain seized of the matter and of the conditions in which former senior officials, in particular the former Prime Minister, Boubèye Maïga, a person of advanced years, are being held.

16. The Authority, however, is deeply concerned about the lack of progress in the preparations for the various elections to be held at the end of February 2022, in accordance with the Authority’s decisions. It urges the transitional Government to issue expeditiously a timeline detailing the calendar and the reforms and priority actions to be undertaken, in particular the consensual definition of the legal framework for the elections, the preparation of the electoral list and the selection of the body that is to conduct the elections. The Authority insists on strict adherence to the agreed electoral calendar.

17. The Authority reiterates the commitment of ECOWAS to supporting the Republic of Mali with a view to a successful transition, and calls upon multilateral and bilateral partners to continue to support the transition process, particularly in terms of preparations for the elections. The Authority commends the mediator and urges him to continue his efforts for a successful transition in Mali.

18. The Heads of State and Government express their deep gratitude to H.E. Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana and current Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, for his leadership in the affairs of the Community.