by Judy Gray with information from Charles Tankoano
Presidential elections were to have taken place in October 2015, but were delayed after the recent coup. I was anxious to hear whether the election process would proceed at the end of November after that coup, and apparently that was the case. Charles Tankoano, coordinator of our partner NGO, APDC, recently sent the following information: “There were presidential elections in Burkina Faso last November 2015. The elections were very well run; quiet, free (because there was no former president who was running), and transparent ~ and the results were accepted by all candidates and all the people . The president-elect , not yet invested, named Rock Marc Christian Kabore , comes from a new party that he created a year ago . The political organization, those of civil society and the whole population are all in perfect agreement with this result. He will serve a 5-year term and may be reelected only once because our constitution currently limits the presidential term to 2 terms. No president would consider amending the constitution to perpetuate itself in power in Burkina Faso; anyone who might try to change this will find the entire people will block his path.” I was pleased to get this news and certainly hope that these election results will herald the beginning of a more peaceful period for the country. To read more about these elections, click on the link: BBC news, Burkina Faso elections