In 2015, Burkina Faso was a semi-presidential republic governed by a democratic constitution. The country’s politics were largely characterized by a commitment to democracy, the rule of law and human rights. The government sought to improve the lives of its citizens through economic growth and poverty reduction. See ehealthfacts for Burkina Faso in the year of 2005.
The government focused on implementing several initiatives in order to promote economic development such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the National Development Plan. These programs sought to provide access to education, health care services, and other basic necessities for all citizens.
In 2015, Burkina Faso also sought to strengthen its ties with other African countries through increased cooperation on security issues such as border control and counterterrorism efforts. The country also continued its efforts to combat organized crime and corruption by implementing new laws and regulations as well as strengthening existing ones. In addition, Burkina Faso worked to improve access to justice for all citizens by establishing an independent judicial system that could adjudicate disputes fairly and impartially.
Yearbook 2015
Burkina Faso. The upheaval process that began in 2014, when President Blaise Compaoré was ousted after 27 years in power, continued in 2015. According to COUNTRYAAH, Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso which is located in Western Africa. One of the big disputes was whether members of Compaoré’s now banned Party of Democracy and Progress Congress (CDP) would stand in the fall elections. In April, the Provisional Parliament voted in favor of a law that would in practice make it impossible for CDP members to stand in elections. The law was appealed by the CDP and six other parties and was also rejected by a regional court sorting under the West African cooperation organization ECOWAS. In August, Burkina Faso’s Constitutional Court ruled that the country’s laws apply before ECOWAS’s ruling.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Burkina Faso country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
Most drama, however, triggered plans to dissolve the presidential guard created by Compaoré. In February, major events were held in the capital Ouagadougou, where the protesters demanded that the guard be dissolved with reference to the guardians intervening in the democratization process. In September, a National Reconciliation and Reform Commission recommended that the approximately 1,200-man strong presidential guard be dissolved. The following day, September 16, the guards, led by General Gilbert Diendéré, conducted a coup d’etat and seized Acting President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida.
The outside world reacted strongly to the coup. The African Union (AU) suspended Burkina Faso and issued sanctions against the coup makers. Commissioned by ECOWAS, Senegal President Macky Sall and Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi traveled to Ouagadougou to mediate. Domestic protests also erupted among the civilian population. Many army soldiers also stood on the side of the legal government and applied to the capital. After six days, the coup makers gave up and Diendéré apologized for his actions.
On September 23, Kafando was able to re-enter as president. The presidential guard was dissolved but it was required that forces from the regular army took over the guard’s organization in order for resistance to cease. After a few days, Diendéré could be arrested and prosecuted for, among other things, murder. In December, he was also indicted for involvement in the murder of former President Thomas Sankara in 1987.
The election was postponed by one week, a measure agreed by all parties. Before the election, Parliament approved a restriction on the time a president may sit in power. From here on, a maximum of two terms of office are allowed for each of five years. The law was written into the constitution and should under no circumstances be changed. In the presidential election, which was finally held on November 29, 14 candidates voted. The main opponents Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who was running for the People’s Progress Movement (MPP), and Zéphirin Diabré, candidate for the Union for Progress and Change (UPC), were former ministers under the ousted President Blaise Compaoré. Kaboré already received 53.5 percent of the vote in the first round, compared to 30 percent for Diabré. The turnout was 60 percent.
Kaboré was a close associate of Compaoré for a long time and was Finance Minister 1992-93 and Prime Minister 1994-96. In 2014, however, he resisted Compaore’s attempt to extend his already 27 years in power. He resigned from the presidential party CDP and formed MPP. This party became the largest in the parliamentary elections held at the same time as the presidential election. MPP received 55 of the 127 seats while UPC became the second largest party with 33 seats. Although some 50 leading members of the CDP were banned from running for parliament, the party received 18 seats.
In May, the new border crossing between Burkina Faso and Niger was initiated by the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) in 2013. The changes will be implemented by the end of 2016. Areas in both countries will be affected and residents will have five years to decide which country they wants to be a citizen of the same month the grave was opened where former President Thomas Sankara is said to be buried. Sankara was murdered in 1987 in connection with the coup that took Blaise Compaoré to power. The purpose of the tomb opening was to find out that it is really Sankara’s dust that rests in the current tomb. In October it was announced that the remains were full of bullet holes but some results from the DNA survey could not yet be presented. In December, a court issued an international appeal for Compaoré, who lives in exile in Ivory Coast.
In June, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast jointly granted a US $ 100 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The money will finance a project for modernized and simplified trade between the countries.
The transitional regime took measures to reduce government spending, including by voting in the provisional parliament in January to halve the members’ salaries. In addition, since May, only salaries are paid to public employees who have proven to be employed in the general public. Payments to over 1,200 public employees who are unlikely to exist were canceled.