Ecowas Rejects Transition Plan in Niger

The military coup junta in Niger has proposed as a way out of the conflict a three-year political transition, “inclusive” in nature and with nationwide repercussions. In its first contact with the press, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) expressed its disapproval of the coup plotters’ project.

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Military Intervention in Niger Will Fuel Instability in Africa

ECOWAS has a lot at stake if the coup were to be consolidated, even if it were to do so as a provisional government. A fourth coup d'état in the region could generate a snowball effect and subvert the “democracies” that make up the community.

However, a war would be, although a lesser evil, another dangerous situation for ECOWAS. The main consequence of a war is the instability of the region, and the possibility that this would give to the terrorism that haunts the whole of West Africa, to become strong and threaten to take power in small regions as has happened in the Middle East.

That is why the institution considered that a political transition led by a de facto government and with a three-year extension of time is something “unacceptable” and insisted that the only way out of the imminent international conflict is the restoration of constitutional order as soon as possible in Niger.

The tweet reads, "General Abdulsalami Abubakar, ECOWAS envoy for the crisis in Niger, said regional leaders would meet soon to discuss the Niger military junta's transition plan and other issues."

The ECOWAS position was disclosed to the media by the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the regional bloc, Abdel-Fatau Musah, in statements to national television media. In that interview Musah warned that the avenues for handing over power are available, and it is a simple step, “you just have to prepare to hand over the baton as soon as possible.” In another part of the interview, he added that the faster the restoration of power to civilians, the fewer consequences their actions will have.

The proposal of the coup military junta took place last Saturday when in a televised speech the general of Niger, Abdourahamane Tiani, informed that power would be handed over in three years and reiterated the dire consequences that a foreign intervention in the country would have. For the military junta, a coup d'état is a path with no turning back, but a war would be fatal for their aspirations.

The inclusive national dialogue would consist of “consulting all components of the Nigerien people on the best ways to lay the foundations of a new constitutional life on pillars deeply rooted in our traditional and republican values”. This dialogue seeks to create a nationalist alternative, which together with governments such as Mali and Burkina Faso, from legitimacy to authoritarian governments, which at the same time join a variant of peripheral Global South but connected with that international environment.

Musah, for his part, referred to the experience that this plan of three-year transitions has left in other countries that have been applying them, where de facto governments are doing everything possible to extend this period to more than one year than planned.

"What legitimacy do they have to start with three years already? And we know it's not going to end there."

These statements come in the context of two days of meetings held by representatives of both sides. The ECOWAS representatives arrived at this meeting assuring that the military bloc’s forces are prepared for a “surgical” military intervention in Niger if “peaceful options fail.”

Today, Niger completes a total of four countries in the region under de facto governments, which have allied to defend their political and military strategies against Western attacks.

Dozens of junta supporters took to the streets this Sunday. It happened in the country’s capital, Niamey, and the demonstrators marched with anti-French pronouncements and rejection of ECOWAS’ attitude.