Niger junta has accepted plan to restore democracy: Togo minister

According to Togo’s foreign minister Robert Dussey, Niger’s military chiefs have reached a consensus on a plan to reinstate democratic governance, which would be submitted to the ECOWAS regional grouping for approval.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is urging a speedy restoration to constitutional order following military commanders’ takeover of power in a coup in July, sent Dussey to Niger to talk with the junta.

“We had an enriching work session with the prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs of Niger. We worked and agreed on the content and timing of the transition,” Dussey said on Niger state television late on Thursday.

“We are going to present this to the heads of states who are mediators and the ECOWAS Commission in the hope that in January, the timeline expected by ECOWAS will be known,” he said, standing next to his Nigerien counterpart.

He did not elaborate on what had been decided.

At its Sunday summit in Nigeria, the primary political and economic organisation in West Africa, ECOWAS, voted to form a committee made up of leaders from Togo, Sierra Leone, and Benin to work with the Niger junta to reach an agreement “on a short transition roadmap.”

According to the bloc, depending on how those negotiations turned out, sanctions against Niger will be gradually lifted.

This Monday, a senior US official stated that if the junta moved towards restoring democracy, the US was ready to start working with Niger again on security and development issues.

President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by the ruling military council of Niger, which is headed by General Abdourahamane Tiani. This is the eighth coup in West and Central Africa since 2020.

(With agency inputs)

from Firstpost World Latest News https://ift.tt/D3xnY25