Burkina Faso Junta Sees Return to Democracy Within Three Years

Burkina Faso's military leader on Tuesday signed off on a return to democracy within three years following a coup in January. 

A civilian prime minister will lead a 24-member cabinet during the transition, according to the charter adopted following a meeting in the capital, Ouagadougou. Interim President Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the prime minister and the speaker of the 71 member-parliament will be barred from running in elections meant to restore constitutional order at the end of the transition period. 

Africa's fourth-biggest gold producer became the third West African country to experience a coup in the past year when soldiers toppled President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. The Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Safeguarding, led by Damiba, accused Kabore of failing to tackle a sprawling Islamist insurgency.

A commission tasked with drafting the charter had proposed a transition of two-and-a-half years -- the period the junta needed to tackle the jihadist threat and organize elections, according to a draft proposal. 

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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