Political and military leaders in Burkina Faso have chosen a former foreign minister, Michel Kafando, to be the country’s interim president.
The move follows the signing of a charter on Sunday mapping out a year-long transition to elections.
Mr Kafando was one of four possible candidates for the post, including two journalists and an academic.
The army took power after President Blaise Compaore was forced to resign on 31 October during mass protests.
Lt Col Isaac Zida, who declared himself head of the West African state, has pledged to hand over power to a civilian authority.
Negotiations
The transitional charter will see an interim legislative chamber and a transitional leader installed until elections are organised next year.
Mr Kafando, 72, was chosen by a special panel composed of religious, military, political, civil and traditional leaders.
Negotiations in the capital Ouagadougou continued into the early hours of Monday morning.
Interim President Michel Kafando
Career diplomat and former foreign minister
Favoured choice of the army
Holds bachelor’s degree in public law from University of Bordeaux and doctorate in political science from the Sorbonne
Born in Ouagadougou, 1942
Married with one child
Mr Kafando’s first task will be to name a prime minister who will appoint a 25-member government. Mr Kafando, a former foreign minister and previously Burkina Faso’s ambassador to the United Nations, will be barred from standing at the next election.
International bodies have threatened sanctions unless civilian rule is restored in Burkina Faso.
Col Zida’s attempts to suspend the constitution and crack down on dissent sparked fresh unrest late last month.
In a communique on Saturday, Col Zida said the constitution was back in force in order to “allow the start of the establishment of a civilian transition”.
Mr Compaore first seized power in a coup in 1987 and went on to win four disputed elections. Tens of thousands of people protested in Ouagadougou in October against moves to allow him to extend his rule.
Story provided courtesy of BBC
Ends
Way to go Burkina Faso. The country need a transition government led by a civilian until election is held. Give no chance to the military to control power again. They need to go back to the barracks. Enough is enough.
Sensible move by the Burkinabe politicians and citizens, which suit their political circumstances.
A transitional administration that will steer the country to the next elections in which it has no interest. ..
Wonder what happened to the “UNIVERSAL COALITION FORMAT here. ..Mr Michel Kafonda is certainly not the leading opposition candidate in Burkina Faso. ..
Bax, you are missing the point. This is a national conference after the military is trying to reinstall itself back in power. Between political parties merging together that is a complete different scenario my friend. The interim leader cannot run for the presidency and the transition is only one year.
Janjanbureh….
The point is not about political parties merging…Its about the similarities between our situation and that of Burkina Faso…We are both faced with a military turned civilian dictatorship that controls and dominates national politics for a long time…
Gambian activists and opposition parties can learn a lot from the Burkina Faso mass action against the Campaore dictatorship…It is a broad coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups, that instigated the civil disobedience campaign which resulted to the departure of Campaore…But the transition government is not even headed by an opposition politician….Nor is the broad coalition headed by the main opposition leader…Zephirin Diabre,who heads the broad coalition, does not seem to have ever contested against Campaore…This non partisan approach is one that has a lot of wisdom for a country emerging from dictatorship…
What are you talking about? For example, if two of us agreed to have a partnership business and you are bringing in one fifth of the capital and I am bringing in four fifth. Who do you think will be the president of company. You have to be out of your mind if you think I will allow you to the company. Bax, I believe in compromise but it had to be fair for both sides. Opposition parties in The Gambia have to work together for the benefit of all Gambia with mutual respect and fair play.
There’s what is called a DORMANT PARTNER, my friend…Regardless of the size of his/her investment in a partnership, the dormant partner is not active in the partnership…So Janjanbureh, you could put in more capital but I can be the chairman, if you decide to be the dormant partner…
But I agree with you that somehow, compromises have to be made and common grounds found, for the good of all…
Infact Bax, President Michel Kafando will the THE DORMANT PARTNER!!! The Prime Minister, Lt Colonel Zida will run things – until he retires and contests the election in a year’s time! Remember, you first read it here (LOL!).