Siasa · ECOWAS Chair Elected · KumbukumbuECOWAS Elects New Chair, Welcomes Guinea Back After 5-Year SuspensionImeandikwa 7 Septemba 2026, 21:22 UTCTazamaNakala ya maneno0:00West Africa's 15-nation ECOWAS bloc0:02charted a new course this weekend,0:04electing Senegal's President Bassirou0:06Diomaye Faye as its new chairman and0:08bringing a suspended member back into0:10the fold for the first time in half a0:11decade. The 69th summit in Freetown,0:14Sierra Leone marked a pivotal moment.0:16Guinea's coup leader Mamady Doumbouya0:18attended in person, his first appearance0:20since the 2021 suspension. The summit0:22drew leaders and representatives from0:24across the bloc. Nigeria was represented0:26by Vice President Kashim Shettima.0:29Outgoing chair Julius Maada Bio of0:31Sierra Leone handed over to President0:33Faye of Senegal for a one-year term,0:35urging the bloc to shift from0:36declarations to concrete results. The0:38summit reaffirmed the 2027 target for0:40the single regional currency, the ECO,0:43through a phased multi-speed approach.0:45Guinea was authorized to join the0:46presidential task force on single0:48currency, a signal of gradual0:50re-engagement after years of isolation.0:52On security, the bloc condemned0:54terrorism across the Sahel and Lake Chad0:56region, pledging to operationalize a0:58regional counterterrorism brigade by1:002027. Leaders also called on1:02Guinea-Bissau to unconditionally release1:04detained political figures, including1:06opposition leader Domingos Simões1:08Pereira, a key flashpoint addressed at1:10the summit. Guinea's continued military1:12presence at the Yenga and Lof border1:14areas with Sierra Leone. ECOWAS urged1:17Guinea to fully withdraw its troops from1:18the disputed territory, a long-standing1:21source of tension between the two1:22neighbors. Outgoing chair Bio struck a1:24blunt tone, calling on the bloc to1:26demonstrate that its decisions translate1:28into real change on the ground for West1:30Africans. President Faye now takes the1:32helm of a bloc facing overlapping1:34crises. Military takeovers in the Sahel,1:36border disputes, terrorist violence, and1:39an ambitious monetary union deadline.1:41With Guinea slowly re-entering the fold1:43and a counterterrorism brigade on the1:44table, the new chairman inherits a1:46packed agenda for the year ahead.Soma makalaMfuatano wa matukio ya habariHeyDexVideo fupi ↗
