Burkina Faso military rule extended for five years

OUAGADOUGOU

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, the talks' chairman has said.

"The duration of the transition is fixed at 60 months from July 2, 2024," Colonel Moussa Diallo, chairman of the organizing committee of the national dialogue process, said after the talks.

He added that coup leader and acting president Ibrahim Traore could run in any elections at the end of the transition period.

What was supposed to be a two-day national dialogue began early on May 25, ostensibly to chart a way back to civilian rule for the West African nation beset by jihadist violence.

The army has governed Burkina Faso since 2022, carrying out two coups that it said were justified in large part by the persistent insecurity.

An initial national dialogue had resulted in a charter that installed Traore as president and put in place a government and a legislative assembly.

Under the new charter, quotas will no longer be used to assign seats in the assembly to members of traditional parties. Instead, "patriotism" will be the only criteria for selecting deputies.

"You have just rewritten a new page in the history of our country," said the Minister of Territorial Affairs, Emile Zerbo, who opened the meeting on May 25.