Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has been replaced as the chair of the ECOWAS with Umaro Sissico Embalo
Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo was unanimously elected Sunday as the new chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
He was elected at the 61st ECOWAS summit in Ghana’s capital Accra to succeed Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, who served two terms.
“Happy to have been elected to the presidency of ECOWAS. It is a great honor and a sign of confidence in Guinea-Bissau,” Embalo tweeted. “Warm thanks to my peers. The challenges are important and we must give the best of us.”
The new chairman, elected for a year, will have the challenge to restore constitutional rule in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, which are currently under military governments.
West Africa saw three coups during Akufo-Addo’s leadership and some analysts argue that ECOWAS has become weak.
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States have lifted economic and financial sanctions against Mali and Burkina Faso. This comes after the two country’s military rulers proposed a 24-month transition to democracy and published a new electoral law. ECOWAS did, however, reject the three-year transition plan put forth by the Guinean coup leaders. During the meeting in Accra,