Global Courant
In the past three years, four countries of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have suffered a military coup and an illegal change of leadership
Successive coups in Niger (July 2023), Mali (August 2020 and May 2021), Guinea (September 2021) and Burkina Faso (January and September 2022) have raised questions about the future of democracy in the region and raised significant doubts about the regional situation. ability of the bloc to achieve its stated goals.
ECOWAS was established in 1975 by the Treaty of Lagos with the sole mission of achieving economic integration across the region. However, the bloc struggled to advance its agenda due to extreme political volatility and ongoing civil wars that paralyzed many of its members. Recognizing that true economic integration can only be built on lasting peace and political stability, in July 1993 it revised its founding treaty to include a mandate to promote peace, security and stability in the West. Africa.
In December 2001, the bloc then adopted the Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which states that “any power grab must be through free, fair and transparent elections” and that member states must demonstrate “zero tolerance for any power gained or unconstitutionally maintained.” The protocol – which contains several other provisions on elections, the rule of law and human rights – also stipulates that “the armed forces, police and other security services (in Member States) shall be under the authority of legally constituted civil authorities”.
ECOWAS has achieved several notable achievements since it adopted the Protocol and made protecting and deepening peace, stability and democracy its priority.
For example, in April 2012, the country negotiated the restoration of constitutional government in Mali following the ousting of President Amadou Toumani Touré in a military coup. Then, in September 2015, after a military putsch in Burkina Faso, it facilitated the return of interim President Michel Kafando. In January 2017, it ensured a democratic transfer of power in Gambia after former leader Yahya Jammeh, who lost the December 2016 presidential elections to current President Adama Barrow, unlawfully tried to remain in office.
For a while, it really looked like ECOWAS could effectively protect democracy within its area of influence. It is admirable that there has not been a single undemocratic change of power in West Africa between 2015 and 2020.
But during this period of rare stability, the bloc’s inability to implement strict term limits for its members’ presidents proved disastrous for the region, paving the way for a new wave of political violence and defeating its stated goal of improving stability and economic integration between Member States was seriously hampered. West African countries.
In May 2015, ECOWAS abandoned a proposal to limit the number of West African presidents to two conditions after opposition from Togo and Gambia.
To this end, Guinea’s first democratically elected president, Alpha Conde, was deposed in September 2021 has illustrated the prevalence of leadership failures in the region and ECOWAS’s disappointing response to its repressive regime and highly regressive political developments.
In March 2020, Conde pushed through a new constitution, which allowed him to extend his term after two terms, despite extensive opposition to the constitution. movement.
He won a hotly contested election October 2020 which was affected by electoral irregularities and violence.
Although he began a third term in December 2020, senior officers of Guinea’s special forces overthrew him in September 2021.
The coup led to wild celebrations in the capital. Conakryand exposed a litany of systemic shortcomings of ECOWAS.
In the months leading up to the October 2020 elections, the country failed to condemn Conde’s nefarious political plans and the clear democratic backsliding it enabled in Guinea.
Moreover, violence and human rights were not explicitly denounced abuse The Guinean government has abandoned opposition supporters or is trying to prevent Conde from seeking a third term.
In fact, ECOWAS has not stated categorically in its books that elections held in a climate of fear and extreme repression cannot be considered “free, fair and transparent.”
This is because it would not comply with the electoral principles set out in the Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
Instead, it called for a de-escalation of “tension and violence” and “constructive dialogue between the government, opposition and civil parties.” society to achieve a lasting, consensual and peaceful solution to the current situation”.
That same year, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara also secured a controversial third term in office after winning the October 31 presidential election – which was boycotted by the opposition – with 94 percent of the vote to vote.
Like Conde’s disputed election victory, Ouattara’s dubious election victory was marred by intimidation, violence and electoral violations.
Nevertheless, ECOWAS leaders did not launch timely and effective interventions to prevent Conde and Ouattara from inflicting untold damage on their countries.
They found it expedient to ignore the political violence and electoral shams that fueled the highly contested third term.
Their collective silence and palpable passivity sent a clear message to West Africa’s would-be coup leaders: the rules don’t matter.
After giving both Conde and Ouattara a pass, ECOWAS willingly ceded its moral authority.
In February 2022, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, then Chairman of ECOWAS, said Mali’s August 2020 coup had a “contagious influence” that created a dangerous situation. trend.
However, he failed to point out that ECOWAS’s inability to govern Conde and Ouattara had already left the country powerless and without any authority when the coupists made their move to the presidency in Mali.
While military officers are certainly the conniving masterminds behind West Africa’s cataclysmic coup epidemic, unscrupulous leaders like Conde and ECOWAS’ lackluster response to their attacks on democracy have made the region fertile ground for regime change.
Currently, ECOWAS is gripped by its efforts to reverse the July 26 coup in Niger, which has appointed General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the coup leader and former head of the Presidential Guard, as head of state.
ECOWAS has suspended Niger’s membership, imposed sanctions, closed borders, cut electricity supplies and threatened to use military force if coup leaders fail to restore legally elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
As expected, Guinea’s military junta has opposed the trade sanctions and plans for armed intervention. Burkina Faso and Mali, meanwhile, have gone a step further and announced that military intervention against Niger’s coup leaders would be considered a “declaration of war” on their nations.
ECOWAS now stands at a dangerous crossroads.
Armed intervention could trigger a war, if not an outright implosion of the region. If a regional war breaks out, several states will undoubtedly leave the union, leaving it limp and powerless in the face of unprecedented unrest.
But the bloc’s authority and structure could also suffer major and irreparable damage if it fails to return Bazoum to power, either through diplomacy or armed force. After all, the bloc cannot even pretend that it is working to deepen democracy, improve stability and lay the foundations for a deep economic union, while nearly a third of its members are led by unelected military juntas who are not interested in economic integration.
ECOWAS might not survive the Nigerien debacle in its current 15-member format if it stays the course.
A divided ECOWAS, meanwhile, would be disastrous for West Africa.
It would struggle to form a united defense against rebel groups operating in the region and secure peace for its long-suffering citizens.
And it would not achieve the regional economic integration and growth that leaders envisioned in May 1975.
Nevertheless, ECOWAS can overcome the current trials and entrench democracy across the region if it consistently enforces its rules and continues to implement new regulations that would help the country maintain stability, such as presidential term limits.
Many West African countries have already demonstrated an incredible and commendable commitment to upholding democratic standards.
This includes countries such as Guinea-Bissau and Liberia that were once ravaged by political conflict and war. The group’s leading democracies – Ghana and Nigeria, both of which have experienced decades of military rule – can help other countries achieve better democratic outcomes and better times. For example, Nigerian President and current Chairman of ECOWAS, Bola Tinubu, was once an outspoken supporter of democracy and a staunch opponent of military rule in Nigeria.
ECOWAS now has the political will at the highest level to effectively promote democracy in West Africa.
This is the perfect moment to draw a line in the sand once and for all and make it clear that the bloc will not tolerate further violations of its values or its Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
