West Africa's ECOWAS rejects Niger junta's proposed three-year delay for elections

ABUJA (Reuters) -West Africa's main regional bloc ECOWAS has rejected a proposal by Niger's military junta to hold elections within three years of a July coup, an ECOWAS commissioner said on Monday.

Junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani said over the weekend that the military government that seized power on July 26 would launch a national dialogue to consult on a transition back to democracy that "should last no longer than three years".

He spoke on Saturday evening, after an ECOWAS delegation met both Tiani and toppled President Mohamed Bazoum in the capital Niamey earlier that day.

ECOWAS Commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah told Reuters on Monday that the bloc's position remained clear.

"Release Bazoum without preconditions, restore constitutional order without further delay," he said via WhatsApp in response to a query about the proposed elections delay.

(Reporting by Camillus EbohWriting by Sofia ChristensenEditing by Chris Reese and Bill Berkrot)