(5 minutes read)
· The incumbent President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who is seeking a second term, was ahead of his opponents in the initial rounds
· According to the provisional results from 196 communes (out of 368) released by the Céni, Kaboré received 58.14% of the vote, against 14.25% for the leader of the opposition, Zephirin Diabré and 13.62% for Eddie Komboïgo, the president of the former ruling party. It is expected that the Céni will announce the results in one week’s time
· In the meantime, the Burkinabe opposition alleged that that the double voting was “riddled with fraud” and tainted by irregularities
· They also said that they would not accept the outcome of the poll since a massive fraud was perpetrated by the ruling party
The recently held presidential poll in Burkina Faso, as reported by www.trendsnafrica.com, may not throw any surprises. The incumbent President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who is seeking a second term, was ahead of his opponents in the initial rounds. This is the information revealed by the National Independent Electoral Commission (Céni), based on the partial results of the November 22 presidential election.
According to the provisional results from 196 communes (out of 368) released by the Céni, Kaboré received 58.14% of the vote, against 14.25% for the leader of the opposition, Zephirin Diabré and 13.62% for Eddie Komboïgo, the president of the former ruling party. It is expected that the Céni will announce the results in one week’s time.
Burkina Faso is a poor West African country that has experienced multiple coups d’état since its independence. President Kiore came to power in 2015 on the assurance he had given to the people that he would quell the jihadist attacks. Many feel that he could not fulfill that assurance as the attacks are still continuing disturbing the ordinary civic life in the West African country. If Kabore cannot garner 50% votes, he may have to face a second round against a candidate supported by the joint opposition. In 2015, he managed to get through in the first round itself by bagging more than 50% votes in the first round itself. Analysts say that this might happen this year as well.
The presidential and legislative elections took place last Sunday under high security. The prevailing tensions had a heavy toll on human lives also. Attack by jihadis led to killing of over 1200 people in the last five years. .
In the meantime, the Burkinabe opposition alleged that the double voting was “riddled with fraud” and tainted by irregularities. They also said that they would not accept the outcome of the poll since a massive fraud was perpetrated by the ruling party.
The non-opening or late opening of polling stations, the unsecured transportation of ballot boxes, the lack of materials or personnel, and the arbitrary modification of the mapping of polling stations are some of the charges leveled by the opposition parties.
A tripartite mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) were present in Burkina to observe the vote. They also met with members of the opposition for “preventive diplomacy”, according to a member of the mission. This could be perhaps the reason for the opposition to call off the stir they proposed before the election commission to mark their protest. The election commission said that the elections could not be held in some territory, which denied over 300,000 citizens their voting rights.
