After vote, ECOWAS lifts all remaining sanctions against Guinea

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ABUJA - The West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Wednesday removed all outstanding sanctions imposed against Guinea following the 2021 coup, after last month's election of former junta leader Mamady Doumbouya.

ECOWAS slapped a raft of sanctions against the mineral-rich but poor country after Doumbouya ousted president Alpha Conde.

In February 2024, ECOWAS eased some of those sanctions -- lifting the restrictions on financial transactions with its member institutions.

Following the "successful holding" of a constitutional referendum in September and the presidential election in December, the bloc decided to "lift, with immediate effect, all residual sanctions against" Guinea and "individuals involved" in the coup, it said in a statement.

It fully reintegrated Guinea into all ECOWAS decision-making organs and other regional activities as it congratulated Doumbouya on his election.

Doumbouya was sworn in as president earlier this month in front of tens of thousands of supporters and several heads of state.

He toppled Guinea's first freely elected president Conde in 2021 and has since cracked down on civil liberties and banned protests.

Political opponents have been arrested, put on trial or driven into exile.

ECOWAS encouraged Doumbouya "to pursue policies towards social cohesion, national unity and inclusive prosperity of the Guinean people".

The west African country's Supreme Court validated his victory, crediting him with 86.7 percent of the vote.