Burkina Faso presidential candidate Roch Marc Christian Kabore from the MPP party waves during a rally in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. Credit: Theo Renaut
After forcing their 27-year president in to exile and surviving a failed week-long coup, the people of Burkina Faso chose their new president Sunday with the election of Roch Marc Christian Kabore, reports BBC.
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Securing 53.5 percent of the vote, Kabore, who is a former prime minister under deposed President Blaise Compaore, won the loyalty of the majority of Burkinabes due to his staunch rejection of Compaore’s attempt to extend presidential term limits last October.
As Face2Face Africa previously reported:
In 1991, President Compaore was officially elected president in 1991…and then again in 1998.
Burkina Faso’s Constitution, which was amended in 2000, dictates that one can only be president for two terms, with each term lasting five years.
However, President Campaore would “win” two more terms.
So on Thursday, as parliament was set to vote on extending the presidential term so that President Campaore could run in next year’s election, the people came together to set fire to the aforementioned establishments in a stiff rejection of government.
Initially, Compaore would announce that he was willing to hand power over gradually by setting up a transitional government, but after protesters set fire to parliament, city hall, and his party’s (Congress for Democracy and Progress) headquarters, Compaore heeded the people’s demands to step down immediately.
For his part, Kabore is credited for being a staunch opponent of Compaore’s re-election efforts, even though he was serving as the chairman of Compaore’s party at the time.
In protest of Compaore’s efforts to amend the constitution for his third term, Kabore left his party.
Kabore then became the “driving force” behind the street protests that eventually forced Campaore in to exile.
Compaore vacating his office was indeed a concrete win for the people; however, just weeks before the nation was to hold its elections this October, the military — led by Gen. Gilbert Diendere and the Presidential Guard who were still loyal to Compaore — attempted a coup on the transitional government.
As Face2Face Africa previously reported:
…on Wednesday, Gen. Gilbert Diendere, former chief of staff of deposed President Compaore, named himself the new leader of the nation.
Diendere reportedly seized power, after presidential guard officers detained interim President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Zida during a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace.
But both Diendere and the Presidential Guard’s efforts would be shortlived.
A week later — amid vociferous protests and effective negotiations made by the Economic Community of West African States — Diendere would be forced to also step down and restore Kafando to power.
By Sunday, an empowered people stood in long queues in order to cast their votes, with Kabore’s main rival, Economy and Finance Minister Zephirin Diabre, winning only 21.6 percent of the vote.
Artists perform before a banner of Burkina Faso’s new president Roch Marc Christian Kabore in Ouagadougou on December 1, 2015 after winning Burkina Faso’s presidential election, official results showed, after a year of turmoil that saw the west African country’s former leader deposed and the military try to seize power in a coup. AFP PHOTO / ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP / ISSOUF SANOGO (Photo credit should read ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)
And by Tuesday, Diabre congratulated the 58-year-old Kabore on his win.
Kabore now says he will focus his presidential term on confronting the country’s economic crisis and consolidating democracy.
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