OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso: Burkina Faso’s military regime, which has been in power since a coup in 2022, will extend its rule by five years under an agreement reached on Saturday during national consultations, the chairman of the talks said.
“The duration of the transition is fixed at 60 months from July 2, 2024,” chairman of the organising committee of the national dialogue process, Colonel Moussa Diallo, said after the talks.
He added that coup leader and incumbent President Ibrahim Traore could run in any election at the end of the transition period.
What was supposed to be a two-day national dialogue began earlier on Saturday, reportedly to chart a path back to civilian rule for the West African nation plagued by jihadist violence.
The military has ruled Burkina Faso since 2022 and has staged two coups, which it says were largely justified by ongoing insecurity.
Jihadist rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have waged a crushing insurgency since 2015 that has killed thousands and displaced millions.
The initial national dialogue resulted in a charter that installed Traore as president and established a government and a legislative assembly.
Under the new charter, quotas will no longer be used to allocate council seats to members of traditional parties. Instead, “patriotism” will be the only criterion for selecting MPs.
“You have just written a new page in the history of our country,” said Territorial Affairs Minister Emile Zerbo, who opened the meeting on Saturday morning.
The original charter set the duration of the transition to civilian rule at 21 months, with the deadline set to expire on July 1.
However, Traore has repeatedly warned that holding elections will be difficult given the dangerous security situation.
The new charter also calls for the creation of a new body called “Korag” that would “monitor and control the implementation of the country’s strategic vision in all areas and by all means.” Its composition and functioning are at the discretion of the president.
Representatives of civil society, security and defence forces and lawmakers in the transitional assembly attended the weekend’s meetings, which most political parties boycotted.
Rights groups have accused Burkina Faso’s junta leaders of abusing civilians during their military campaigns against jihadists and silencing the media and opposition leaders.
After seizing power, the coup plotters expelled French troops and diplomats and instead turned to Russia for military assistance.
