The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has lifted all remaining sanctions on Guinea, fully reintegrating the West African nation into regional affairs following last month’s election of former junta leader Mamady Doumbouya.
The sanctions had been imposed after Doumbouya seized power in a 2021 coup, ousting President Alpha Condé and prompting widespread regional condemnation. In February 2024, ECOWAS had partially eased restrictions, allowing limited financial transactions with member institutions.
In a statement on Wednesday, ECOWAS cited the “successful holding” of a constitutional referendum in September and the December presidential election as key factors in its decision to remove all residual sanctions against Guinea and individuals involved in the 2021 coup.
The bloc also confirmed Guinea’s full participation in all ECOWAS decision-making organs and regional activities, while congratulating Doumbouya on his electoral victory.
Doumbouya, who officially took office earlier this month before tens of thousands of supporters and several regional heads of state, had toppled Guinea’s first democratically elected president in 2021. Since then, his administration has faced criticism for curbing civil liberties, banning public protests, and targeting political opponents through arrests, trials, and exile.
ECOWAS called on the Guinean president “to pursue policies towards social cohesion, national unity, and the inclusive prosperity of the Guinean people.”
Guinea’s Supreme Court validated Doumbouya’s win, reporting that he secured 86.7 percent of the vote, cementing his leadership and signaling a formal end to the regional isolation that followed the 2021 coup.
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