Burkina Faso’s military regime, in power since a 2022 coup, will extend its rule for five years under an accord adopted during national consultations on Saturday, the talks’ chairman said.
“The transition period is set at 60 months, starting from July 2, 2024,” announced Colonel Moussa Diallo, chairman of the national dialogue organizing committee, following the talks. He clarified that coup leader and acting president Ibrahim Traore is eligible to run in elections at the end of the transition.
Jerrymusa.com reports that the two-day national dialogue, aimed at charting a path to civilian rule, began on Saturday. The army has governed Burkina Faso since 2022, justifying two coups due to the country’s persistent insecurity amidst jihadist violence.
Jihadist Rebel Affiliation
Jihadist rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have waged a grinding insurgency since 2015, killing thousands and displacing millions. An initial national dialogue adopted a charter installing Traore as president, establishing a government and legislative assembly.
Under the new charter agreed upon Saturday, traditional party quotas will no longer assign assembly seats; instead, “patriotism” will be the sole criteria for selecting deputies.
The initial charter set the transition duration to civilian rule at 21 months, expiring on July 1, but Traore had warned that holding elections would be difficult due to the security situation.
Civil society representatives, security forces, and lawmakers participated in the talks, while most political parties boycotted the event.