The Military leader of Burkina Faso has signed a new charter allowing him to remain in power for five more years before transition to a new government.
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He signed the new charter on Saturday at a transitional assembly in Ouagadougou which had civil society representatives, the security and defense forces, and lawmakers in attendance. The assembly was boycotted by most political parties.
According to the charter, Traore will be able to run in elections at the end of the five-year transition period. However, the charter also retains the possibility of holding elections before the end of the transition period.
“The duration of the transition is fixed at 60 months from July 2, 2024,” said Col. Moussa Diallo, the chairman of the organizing committee of the national dialogue process, in a speech after the talks.
On September 30, 2022 former Burkina Faso military leader President Paul-Henri Damiba was deposed in the country’s second coup in a year. Army Captain Ibrahim Traore took charge, dissolving the transitional government and suspending the constitution.
34-year-old Traore said at the time that a group of officers had decided to remove Damiba due to his inability to deal with an armed uprising in the country that had continued to worsen.
The junta had set a goal of conducting elections to return the country to democratic rule by July 2024 but with the extension of the transition date, military leader Capt Ibrahim Traore will continue to remain in power as president.
Business Day reported that despite the take over of government by the military the economic and security challenges still persist. Around half of Burkina Faso’s territory remains outside of government control.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur