President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal has been elected chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), taking over the leadership of the 15-member regional bloc at a time of deep political divisions, rising insecurity, and growing uncertainty over its future.
Faye succeeds Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio, who served as ECOWAS chairman for the past year after assuming the role from Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu in 2025.
His appointment was confirmed during the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government summit on Sunday, where regional leaders entrusted the 45-year-old Senegalese leader with steering the bloc through one of the most challenging periods in its nearly 50-year history.
Unlike some regional organizations, the ECOWAS chairmanship is not allocated through a strict rotational system. Instead, heads of state elect a chairman by consensus for a renewable one-year term, with considerations often including regional balance, diplomatic priorities, and the political context facing the bloc.
A bloc at a crossroads
