The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) agreed on Friday to allow the military junta to rule for a year and then hand over power to a civilian government.
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As a result of the extraordinary meeting on Mali's situation, the 15-country block demanded to the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) "the immediate release of all the remaining senior Government officials in detention, without pre-conditions," Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said via twitter.
Mali's former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was released by the CNSP yesterday and is currently at his residency in the capital Bamako.
The ECOWAS also demands "a transition process, to be completed in not more than 12 months, and which shall include the representatives of Malian stakeholders."
The block explained that Mali's current military government "has to abide by these requests to enjoy the cooperation and collaboration of regional and international community, and to allow the easing of sanctions imposed on Mali."
In the aftermath of the coup, the ECOWAS decided to suspend Mali's membership and to halt trade as neighboring countries closed its borders.
Furthermore, the ECOWAS said it would provide the necessary logistics to facilitate a re-election process and re-establish democratic governance in Mali.
Former president Keita has said that he does not pretend to return to politics.