Capt. Ibrahim Traore secures five more years as president
The military junta in Burkina Faso, in power since 2022, has announced that it will remain in power for another five years, retaining Captain Ibrahim Traore as its leader. This follows the signing of a new charter after national consultations in the capital on Saturday.
Civil society representatives, the security and defence forces and lawmakers in the transitional assembly participated in the talks in Ouagadougou, which was boycotted by most political parties.
“The duration of the transition is fixed at 60 months from July 2, 2024,” Col. Moussa Diallo, the chairman of the organising committee of the national dialogue process, said in a speech after the talks.
He added that coup leader and acting president Ibrahim Traore can run in any elections at the end of the transition period.
What was supposed to be a two-day national dialogue began earlier Saturday, ostensibly to chart a way back to civilian rule for the country.
By this decision, early claims by Capt. Traore that he has no intention of staying in power have been dispelled. The new rules mean he will still be eligible to run in elections in 2029
Under the new charter agreed Saturday also, quotas will no longer be used to assign members of traditional parties seats in the [legislative] assembly. Instead, “patriotism” will be deemed the only criteria to select deputies.
The transitional government has been running Burkina Faso under a constitution approved by a national assembly that included army officers, civil society groups and traditional and religious leaders. The junta had set a goal of conducting elections to return the country to democratic rule by July 2024.
