INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP
Africa Report: No:222
*Burkina Faso's Interim President Michel Kafando
Three months after
Blaise Compaoré’s departure, Burkina
Faso ’s transition is moving forward in an
uncertain context. The provisional government, with the help of its
international partners, should initiate urgent reforms and ensure the October
2015 elections allow for peaceful, democratic change.
When President Blaise Compaoré was ousted in October 2014,
he left the country with weak institutions and under economic strain. The
provisional government, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida, has nine
months left to organise presidential and parliamentary polls. Three major
contradictions threaten the country’s stability: the tension between the desire
for stability and the hope for radical change; the short time available in the
transition to achieve vital but enormous tasks; and the need to organise polls
as well as implement reforms while lacking the necessary funds. In its latest
report, Burkina
Faso: Nine Months to Complete the Transition, the International
Crisis Group argues that to overcome these hurdles and to ensure that the army
recedes from power at the end of the transition, Burkina Faso’s main actors
should continue to manage the transition in an inclusive manner and receive the
support of their international partners.
The report’s major findings
and recommendations are:
*Ousted President Blaise Compaore
·
· Dissolving the former presidential guard, the Presidential
Security Regiment (RSP), must be done with great care and in constant
consultation with its members. Unless RSP members are offered continued salary
payment, pension rights and career progression, they could resort to violence
and threaten the transition.
· To prepare for the October 2015 elections, the electoral law
should be amended to allow independent candidates to contest local and
legislative elections and to set a limit for financial contributions to
election campaigns. In addition, the electoral commission should encourage the
involvement of Burkina’s youthful voting population.
· Burkina Faso ’s partners – the
Economic Community of West African States, France, the U.S. , the EU and Taiwan – should provide the funds
needed to revise voter rolls and organise the elections. They should help in
setting up the program to tackle youth unemployment promised by President
Michel Kafando, and engage in dialogue with the army and military officers to
make sure they relinquish power at the end of the transition.
“The transitional government will need to find the right
balance between satisfying popular demands to prevent massive street protests
and avoiding populist tendencies that could threaten state authority”, says
Rinaldo Depagne, West Africa Project Director. “Blaise Compaoré’s departure
does not mean that Burkina
Faso is out of the woods”.
“Burkina
Faso ’s international partners must not
repeat the mistake of turning a blind eye to poor governance to safeguard their
strategic interests”, says Comfort Ero, Africa Program Director. “Now that the
people have risen against autocracy, international partners should provide
crucial financial and political support to accompany the country on its
democratic path”.
Read Full PDF Version Of Report Here (French)
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