Politics

Burkina Faso: Military junta not in hurry to leave. Here’s why

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2022

Reports out of Burkina Faso say the country’s ruling junta, the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), has signed a charter setting a three-year transition period before the country holds elections.

The development comes just over a month after the coup leaders successfully toppled the country’s elected president Roch Marc Kaboré.

“The duration of the transition is set at 36 months from the date of the inauguration of the president,” according to the transition charter signed by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who replaced former president Roch Marc Christian Kabore in late January.

The coup that brought the current junta into power in Burkina Faso was launched on 23 January 2022 when gunfire erupted in front of the presidential residence in the Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou and several military barracks around the city.

Soldiers were reported to have seized control of the military base in the capital. However, the then sitting government of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré denied there was an ongoing coup in the country. On 24 January, the military announced on television that President Kaboré had been removed from the seat of power. After the announcement, the military declared that the parliament, government and constitution had been dissolved. The coup d’état was led by military officer Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

The meetings to broker a new civil government also involved political parties, unions, youth and women, as well as people displaced by the jihadist attacks that have hit Burkina Faso since 2015.

The charter also stipulates that the president of the transition “is not eligible for the presidential, legislative and municipal elections which will be organized to put an end to the transition.”

That provision also applies to the 25 members of the transitional government.

The charter specifies that one of the main missions of the transition is “to fight against terrorism, restore the integrity of the national territory”.

It also aims to “provide an effective and urgent response to the humanitarian crisis and the socio-economic dramas and community caused by insecurity” and “strengthen governance and the fight against corruption”.

The current junta in Burkina Faso had announced the approval of a “fundamental act” that “lifts the suspension of the constitution”, a move that had been declared after the January 24 coup.

The declaration guarantees the independence of the judiciary and presumption of innocence, as well as basic liberties spelled out in the constitution such as freedom of movement and freedom of speech, according to the statement.

The Burkina Faso coup is the latest in the new wave of coups in Africa. In 2021 alone, the continent witnessed 6 different coup attempts across African states, first in Central Africa Republic in January, Mali in May, Tunisia in July, Guinea in September and a double attempt in Sudan in September and October to end the coup cycle for the year.

Related Topics:Burkina Faso Christian Kabore Sandaogo Damiba

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Politics

Opposition party wins majority seats in Guinea Bissau’s parliament

Published

15 hours ago

June 9, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

After a thirteen months break in Guinea-Bissau’s parliament, the opposition coalition has won majority seats after the legislative elections held on Sunday.

Over 20 political parties and coalitions, including the former ruling PAIGC party and its rival MADEM G15, presented candidates for various constituencies across the country.

According to official results, the PAI Terra Ranka coalition, led by the former ruling PAIGC party, won 54 of 102 seats in Sunday’s poll, while the ruling Madem G15, won 28 seats.

The development alters the planned constitutional reforms of President Embalo which would have allowed him to consolidate power by ridding the country of its semi-presidential system.

Under the current political system, the majority party or coalition appoints the government but the president has the authority to dismiss it in certain circumstances, a situation that has led to political gridlock and infighting in the past.

The political stability of the country has been consistently threatened by military incursions with successful and failed coup attempts. The latest was in February 2022 when gunmen stormed a government compound where President Embalo was holding a cabinet meeting, in an attempt to stage a coup.

Politics

Algeria, Sierra Leone get non-permanent seat at UN Security Council

Published

3 days ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Algeria and Sierra Leone, have been elected as non-permanent members of the the United Nations’ Security Council for 2024-2025.

The two countries are part of the ten countries elected for two years in the Council outside the five power bloc countries— the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

The countries replace Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates and will join Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland who were elected last year.

For Sierra Leone, it’s a return to the council after 53 years. Its Foreign Minister, David Francis said it was “a great day for this small, progressive and confident country…which has successfully transitioned from war to peace.”

Guyana and South Korea were also elected unchallenged while Slovenia handily beat Belarus for the only contested seat.

An official of rights agency, Human Rights Watch, Louis Charbonneau remarked that “the vote in the General Assembly shows why a competition for UN elections is essential” after Slovenia edged Belarus for the seat going to Eastern Europe and obtained 153 votes, against 38 in Belarus.

“UN member states have undoubtedly decided that Belarus’ grave human rights violations at home and attempts to cover up Russian atrocities in Ukraine disqualify it from serving on the Security Council, a crucial body for ensuring human rights. humans,” he added.

Algeria got 184 votes, South Korea 180 votes, Sierra Leone 188 votes and Guyana 191 in a single candidate votes for four seat reserved for Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean.

There has been a long debate about the place of Africa in international relations. At the inception of the United Nations, only four independent African countries represented the continent when 50 representatives of different countries met in San Francisco, California, in 1945 to complete the Charter of the United Nations.