General elections were held in Burkina Faso on 29 November 2015. They were the first national elections in the country since the 2014 Burkinabé uprising and the departure of President Blaise Compaoré, who had ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years. Compaoré's party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress, was banned from presenting a presidential candidate in the presidential elections but was still able to participate in the parliamentary election.
The presidential election was won by Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of the People's Movement for Progress, who received 53% of the vote in the first round, avoiding the need for a second round. Kaboré took office on 29 December, becoming only the second civilian president since the country gained independence from France in 1960 and the first civilian to hold the post in 49 years.
Background 2014 uprising
Following an amendment in 2000, the constitution limits presidents to two terms of five years. However, the restrictions were not applied retrospectively, allowing President Blaise Compaoré, who had been in office since 1987, to run for a further two terms; accordingly, he was re-elected in 2005 and 2010."Burkina Faso parliament set ablaze", BBC News, 30 October 2014.
On 30 October 2014 the National Assembly was scheduled to vote on a constitutional amendment that would scrap term limits. However, the vote sparked protests, with the National Assembly building, Ouagadougou City Hall and the Congress for Democracy and Progress headquarters set on fire. As a result of the protests, the vote was suspended. Protests were also reported in other cities, including the second largest city Bobo Dioulasso.
Compaoré subsequently announced that he would withdraw the constitutional amendment."Burkina Faso president defies calls to step down", BBC News, 31 October 2014. On 31 October, Compaoré resigned and suggested an election should be held within 90 days."Burkina Faso unrest: President Blaise Compaore resigns", BBC News, 31 October 2014.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Honoré Traoré first assumed the role of acting head of state. However, many protesters criticised the new transition of power because of Traoré's ties to Compaoré. Some protesters have called for the election of Kouamé Lougué. After a brief power struggle, the armed forces asserted that Yacouba Isaac Zida had their unanimous backing to be the interim head of state, although some protests continued against having a military-led interim administration.
Presidential candidates The transitional charter barred any ministers in the transitional government from running for the presidency."Burkina Faso to hold presidential vote in October – interim government", Reuters, 22 January 2015.
The following politicians declared their intent to stand as presidential candidates, although some were barred from running: Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara – party leader for Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Movement and endorsed by nine other Sankarist parties."Benewende Sankara endorsed to contest for Burkina Faso presidency", Xinhua, 19 May 2015. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré – party leader of the People's Movement for Progress,"Burkina: R.M. Christian Kaboré investi candidat pour la présidentielle", Radio France Internationale, 6 July 2015 . Prime Minister from 1994 to 1996, and President of the National Assembly from 2002 to 2012. Eddie Komboïgo, party leader of the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP).Benjamin Roger, "Burkina : Eddie Komboïgo sera le candidat du CDP à la présidentielle", Jeune Afrique, 10 July 2015 ."Burkina: le CDP investit Eddie Komboïgo pour la présidentielle", Radio France Internationale, 11 July 2015 . Djibril Bassolé,"Djibrill Bassolé : "Oui, je vais annoncer ma candidature à la présidentielle"", Jeune Afrique, 9 April 2015 . leader of many political parties including New Alliance of Faso (NAFA). Known as a peacemaker in Africa, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2008 and from 2011 to 2014. Gilbert Noël Ouédraogo, party leader of the Alliance for Democracy and Federation – African Democratic Rally (ADF-RDA),"Présidentielle au Burkina: Gilbert Noël Ouédraogo investi candidat", Radio France Internationale, 9 August 2015 . Minister of Transport from 2006 to 2013.
Electoral code and controversy In April 2015 the interim legislature passed an electoral code banning any MPs who supported the constitutional amendment to scrap term limits from contesting the elections."Burkina Faso blocks Compaore allies from elections", BBC News, 8 April 2015. The reform of the electoral code was adopted by the transitional parliament on 7 April and signed by President Kafando on 10 April. In protest, the former ruling CDP and its allies announced on 10 April 2015 that they were suspending participation in the National Transition Council and the National Commission for Reconciliation and Reforms, saying the new electoral code was a means of political exclusion.
On 13 July 2015 the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled against the exclusionary law. According to the court, preventing people from contesting the elections on the basis of a political stance was "a violation of their fundamental human rights".
On 16 July 2015 President Kafando confirmed that Burkina Faso would apply ECOWAS's judgment. However, on the same day the transitional government charged Blaise Compaoré with "high treason" over his bid to change the constitution and run for a third term. In addition to these charges against Compaoré, the transitional parliament brought murder and assault charges against all government officials who approved of his bid to stay on."Burkina: Blaise Compaore et ses ministres mis en accusation devant la haute cour de justice", Burkina24, 16 July 2015. The sudden charges were criticized by some, as they were perceived as a new manoeuvre from the transitional government to exclude all serious candidates from running in the upcoming elections. It also reasserted the suspicions of partiality and instrumentalisation that surround the transitional government.
Compaoré supporters appealed to the Constitutional Council to annul the charges. On 10 August, the court ruled that it lacked the authority to decide whether the charges should be annulled."Loyalist challenge to ousted Burkina leader's treason case fails", AFP, 10 August 2015.
22 people submitted applications to stand as presidential candidates by the deadline at midnight on 21 August 2015. The list included politicians who had served under Compaoré, such as Djibril Bassolé, as well as politicians who had opposed him, such as Bénéwendé Sankara and Zéphirin Diabré.
Despite the ECOWAS ruling against the exclusionary law, the Constitutional Council ruled on 25 August that the law had never been overturned by the authorities in Burkina Faso and therefore remained in effect. Accordingly, it barred 42 prospective candidates who had supported changing the constitution from standing as parliamentary candidates, including CDP leader Eddie Komboïgo and ADF-RDA leader Gilbert Noel Ouedraogo. Outraged, the CDP vowed civil disobedience and potentially an electoral boycott, arguing that the ruling was illegal and unconstitutional, that it denied the rights of citizens to participate in the political process and ignored the ECOWAS ruling. Parties which had supported Compaoré promptly appealed to the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.
On 29 August 2015, the Constitutional Council announced that 16 of the 22 prospective candidates would be allowed to run. As with the parliamentary election, CDP leader Eddie Komboïgo and ADF-RDA leader Gilbert Noel Ouedraogo were barred from running. All of the other candidates were allowed to run, except for four independent candidates who failed to pay the necessary deposit. Djibril Bassolé, who was Compaoré's last foreign minister, was cleared to stand. Komboïgo condemned the court's ruling, saying that it was politically motivated."Burkina bars ex-leader's party candidate from presidential vote", Agence France-Presse, 30 August 2015.
Three candidates argued that Djibril Bassolé and Yacouba Ouedraogo, who were both serving in the government when Compaoré was ousted in October 2014, should also be excluded because they were present at a government meeting to prepare legislation that would have scrapped presidential term limits. The Constitutional Council accepted this argument, and on 10 September 2015 it struck Bassolé and Ouedraogo from the list of approved candidates. Of the 14 remaining candidates, Roch Marc Christian Kabore and Zéphirin Diabré, both of whom served in the government under Compaoré but later broke with him and went into opposition, were viewed as the leading contenders.
September 2015 coup
On 16 September 2015, the Regiment of Presidential Security (RSP), the presidential guard closely linked to Compaoré, detained President Kafando and Prime Minister Zida, two days after the reforms commission had recommended dissolving the RSP. The coup leaders announced on 17 September that they were dismissing Kafando, dissolving the government and the transitional legislature, and setting up a new transitional body, the National Council for Democracy (CND), to lead the country to "inclusive and peaceful elections". In their proclamation of the CND, they denounced the transitional authorities for their allegedly undemocratic electoral law and for ignoring the recommendations of ECOWAS to scrap the exclusionary law. General Gilbert Diendéré was appointed as chairman of the council.
Later in the day, Diendéré said that Compaoré had nothing to do with the coup and that the coup was supported by the rest of the army. He called for calm "so that we can continue on the path to inclusive and democratic elections" and appealed to the international community: "We know a coup is never accepted by the international community, but we ask it to understand the purpose of our action. We are committed to dialogue and accept certain principles of the international community." He stressed that he had no interest in politics and was only getting involved due to the "special situation", and he said that power would be returned to civilians "as soon as conditions are there". In other comments, he said that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held on a new timetable, which would be determined through consultations with "the concerned actors, notably the political parties and civil society organisations". He also promised that the exclusionary electoral law would be changed so that all political forces could participate.Romaric Ollo Hien, "Burkina coup leader pledges elections 'soon' as three killed in protests", Agence France-Presse, 17 September 2015.
Two regional leaders—Macky Sall, the President of Senegal and Chairman of ECOWAS, and Boni Yayi, the President of Benin—travelled to Ouagadougou on 18 September to hold talks with Diendéré, aiming to restore the transitional government.Romaric Ollo Hien, "African Union suspends Burkina Faso, slaps sanctions on coup junta", Agence France-Presse, 18 September 2015. On 20 September, a draft agreement was announced that would involve allowing the previously excluded candidates to participate in the election. It also granted amnesty to those who participated in the coup and required the release of those who were detained by the CND. It also allowed a delay in the holding of the election, but required that it be held by 22 November.Patrick Fort and Romaric Ollo Hien, "Mooted amnesty deal for Burkina coup leaders branded 'shameful'", Agence France-Presse, 20 September 2015. The two sides appeared to still disagree about who would lead the transition: the draft agreement called for restoring Kafando as president, but the CND insisted that Diendéré should continue in his post for the remainder of the transitional period.Brahima Ouedraogo, "Burkina Faso mediators propose November vote after coup", Associated Press, 20 September 2015.