ECOWAS technical mission in Conakry to support the process of returning to Constitutional order in Guinea

The Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ambassador Abdel-Fatau MUSAH, has reaffirmed the regional organisation’s commitment to supporting Guinea in its transition process.

As the head of the technical mission from ECOWAS dispatched to Conakry, the Guinean capital, by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau MUSAH and the members of his delegation held talks with several Guinean authorities on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 April 2025.

They were the Prime Minister, Amadou Oury Bah, the President of the National Transitional Council (the transitional parliament), Dr Dansa Kourouma, the Minister of Land Administration and Decentralisation, Ibrahima Kalil Condé, and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Guineans Abroad, Ambassador Abdoulaye Youla.

Discussions between the ECOWAS Commission delegation and the various Guinean authorities focused in particular on monitoring the implementation of the agreement signed between the two parties on a ten (10) point timetable for the return to constitutional order.

According to the Prime Minister, the Guinean government’s intention is to complete the transition process by 2025. “We have no intention of procrastinating. Our commitment to a rapid return to constitutional order is firm, and we are doing so above all for the well-being of our people’’, said Amadou Bah Oury.

He stressed the need to organise the presidential and legislative elections before the local elections, and recalled the holding of the referendum on Guinea’s new constitution on 21 September 2025.

The draft new constitution was the backbone of the discussions between the ECOWAS technical mission and the President of the National Transitional Council. According to Dr. Dansa Kourouma, the draft, drawn up by his institution, contains 199 articles. Unanimously approved by the members of the Council on Wednesday 9 April 2025, it will be forwarded to the Guinean president within 15 days and must be voted on by 30 April 2025, said Dr Kourouma.

In consultation with other Guinean authorities, both from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Guineans Living Abroad and from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, the delegation from the ECOWAS Commission was informed of other actions undertaken to complete the transition process in Guinea.

These include the current availability of six thousand (6,000) biometric census kits for the simultaneous creation of the national register of natural persons and the electoral roll, the evaluation of Guinean political parties and social appeasement measures.

The Guinean side also provided clarification on the estimated budget for carrying out operations linked to the process of returning to constitutional order, with information on the financial resources already released by the Guinean government and the proposals for financial support made by Guinea’s Institutions and partners.

According to the Guinean side, the country is counting on the support of ECOWAS to help it mobilise more financial resources through the organisation of a round table of donors, with a view to the success of its transition process and return to constitutional order.

Guinea needs technical and financial support from ECOWAS. The Prime Minister, the President of the National Transitional Council, and the Minister for Territorial Administration and Decentralisation said that Guinea needed the support of the regional organisation.

For his part, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau MUSAH reiterated ECOWAS’s willingness to support Guinea in the success of its transition process. “ECOWAS alone cannot provide financial support to Guinea. We are working with the United Nations and the African Union to facilitate a round table of partners to mobilise financial resources for your country”, he said.

He called on the various Guinean players to engage in an inclusive dialogue, and to respect human rights and the ECOWAS protocols in the process of restoring constitutional order.

In addition to the Guinean players, the delegation from the ECOWAS Commission also held talks with the other members of the G5 (Group of 5), namely the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and France, on the transition process in Guinea.

In addition to Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, the delegation includes the Director of Cabinet of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Abdou KOLLEY, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea, Ambassador Louis Blaise Aka-Brou, and the Acting Head of the Commission’s Electoral Assistance Division, Serigne Mamadou KA.

The other members of the delegation were Constant Gnacadja, Serge Daniel Djizoe and Liberor Doscof Aho, respectively Acting Head of the Mediation and Coordination of Regional Political Affairs Division, Legal Adviser, and Communications Officer of the ECOWAS Commission; and Francis Acquah-Aikins Jnr, Executive Assistant to the Head of Mission.