Mali Gives ECOWAS Rep 72 Hrs To Leave Country

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that Malian government has designated the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Special Representative “persona non grata” and given him 72 hours to leave the country.

According to a statement released Monday by the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ECOWAS‘ special representative in Mali, Hamidou Boly, was invited to the ministry and “notified of the government’s decision” declaring him “persona non grata in light of his actions incompatible with his status.”

He was also given 72 hours to get out of the country.

“This decision follows multiple warnings made to the person concerned through his hierarchy,”

According to the statement, signaling the Malian government’s “readiness to maintain conversation” with ECOWAS and “operate together” for the transition’s success.

The Malian authorities made this decision after a UN Security Council mission visited the country on October 23 and 24, to assess the country’s political situation, and after being urged by ECOWAS to adhere to the 18-month transition period (starting September 15, 2020) in order to hold the first round of legislative and presidential elections on February 27.

According to NAN, ECOWAS President-in-Office John Nana Akuffo-Addo of Ghana paid an official visit to Bamako on Oct. 17 to discuss the “evolution” of the transition with Malian authorities.

Following the coup on Aug. 18, 2020, the West African country has been in the midst of an 18-month political transition since Sept. 15, 2020.

However, in recent weeks, the transitional authorities have called for the first round of presidential and legislative elections, slated for February 27, 2022, to be postponed, effectively extending the transitional period.