Guinea-Conakry : ECOWAS Mediation Mission Postponed

A high level consultation meeting between Guinea’s Transitional Military Government and mediators of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has been postponed. The reason for the postponement according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is due to the busy schedule of the country’s Head of State. ECOWAS delegation headed by the former Benin President, Thomas Boni Yayi was expected to travel to Conakry last Sunday, June 18, 2023 to discuss the establishment of the evaluation and monitoring committee for the time table, but were forced to stay put by the Guinean Transitional Military Government.
The postponement of the meeting is seen as a setback to both the ECOWAS mediation mission that wanted to fast track discussions with the country’s Transitional Military Government and other stakeholders like, political parties and the civil society organization after several months of inactivity. Reacting to the postponement, Mohamed Cisse, spokesman for the Party of Hope for National Development (PEDN), a staunch supporter of the military government said, “It is needless for the different stakeholders involved in the mediation to rush”. He added that, “It is not the first time a visit by the mediator has been postponed, let us wait and see, in the next few hours, whether a new date will be given”. He emphasized. His proposals has not been well received by members of the UFDG party, who’s Secretary General, Aliou Conde is worried. To him, the postponement is bad news, “Because it postpone...