ECOWAS envoy leaves Mali without poll date agreement

Former Nigerian President Good luck Jonathan has ended a two-day visit to Mali without any agreement on a date for elections to return the country to civilian rule.

The military government in Mali, which seized power in 2020, said it regretted the lack of compromise at this stage.

Jonathan is mediating in Mali on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).

He had sought to pin down a date for free elections, having previously said an initially proposed five years was too long.

Ecowas and the European Union imposed sanctions on members of interim President Assimi Goïta’s inner circle earlier this year after the military authorities in Mali junked a plan for February elections.