On 20 November, Dr. Sarjoh Bah, Senior Fellow discussed the ongoing political and security situation in Guinea at the Africa Diplomatic Forum organized on behalf of the Institute of African Studies and the School of International and Public Affairs Pan-African Network (SPAN), Columbia University. Among other things, Dr. Bah called on ECOWAS to deploy a medium-sized unarmed military observer force at least three months before the elections. The force, which should be part of ECOWAS's election monitoring team, should be mandated to monitor the activities of the country's security forces before, during and after the elections. Furthermore, he called for a residual military presence to be kept on the ground to assist the new civilian authorities start the process of bringing the country's security forces, especially the military under civilian control. In his view, subjecting the military and other statutory security institutions to civilian control should be a high priority as it is a crucial first step in consolidating civilian rule in Guinea. The residual force, he argues, should assist the Guinean authorities in disarming and returning foreign militias to their countries of origin; a process that should specifically target mercenaries from neighbouring states and beyond.
