The Economic Community of Central African States has reached a consensus to remove sanctions on Gabon and reintegrate the country into the regional bloc.
This decision comes six months after Gabon’s membership was suspended in response to a coup that led to the ousting of President Ali Bongo.
The agreement was reached during a meeting held in neighbouring Equatorial Guinea, as announced by Gabon’s Foreign Minister, Regis Onanga Ndiaye, in a televised address, Reuters reported.
While there was no official statement from the bloc, Burundi’s Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro confirmed the agreement to lift sanctions on Gabon after attending the meeting.
Following the coup on August 30, the bloc had suspended Gabon’s membership and its involvement in all associated activities. The African Union also suspended the country’s membership in a strong regional stance against the political upheaval. These measures were declared to remain in effect until the restoration of constitutional order.
Despite the junta that orchestrated Bongo’s removal still being in power, they announced in November their intention to reestablish democratic governance by 2025.
A two-year transition before the democratic elections promised by the nation’s new military authorities, according to Gabon’s new prime minister Raymond Ndong Sima, is a “reasonable objective.”
In the past three years, Central and West Africa, a region that has sought to move away from its reputation as a “coup belt,” has experienced a series of coup d’états. Some of the countries in the region that have undergone a coup in recent years include Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger.
