Madar (International) - Coumba Ba, minister-adviser to President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani and Mauritania's candidate for secretary-general of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), said bringing Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso back into the organisation would be an "absolute priority" of her first term if elected, in an interview broadcast by France 24 on Friday, October 16, 2026.
She said she wanted to be "the secretary-general of unity and cohesion" who brought those countries back and opened the door to others. The three states announced in March 2025 that they were leaving the OIF, France 24 noted. Asked about the apparent conflict with the organisation's rules on regimes that came to power in coups, she said La Francophonie "must remain faithful to its founding values", such as democracy, the rule of law and citizens' freedoms, "while closing the door to no one" and helping those countries move out of unconstitutional situations.
According to the broadcaster, Ba is running against incumbent Louise Mushikiwabo of Rwanda, Juliana Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of Congo and former Romanian prime minister Dacian Ciolos. She said her bid was built on bringing people together, that she preferred a consensus but was ready for a vote if heads of state chose one, and that she had presented her vision in more than 40 of the 53 voting countries.
On the status of French in Mauritania, she said the language "is not in decline", remaining present in education and serving as a working language in trade and the economy, and that La Francophonie defends multilingualism. On the OIF's funding difficulties, she argued that existing resources should be used better and that large private companies could contribute to programmes that deliver results.
Mauritania announced Ba's candidacy in April 2026 and has since sent ministers to African capitals to rally support for her bid.
