(3 minutes read)
· The electoral commission of Burkina Faso has announced the incumbent Kabore as the winner of the election. In a move to preempt any protest by the opposition parties, Kabore offered an olive branch to the opposition, which has criticized re-election fraught with fraudulent practices
· Since he has bagged more than 50% votes in the first round, he avoids a runoff vote in which he would have had to stand against a single candidate backed by a united opposition
The electoral commission of Burkina Faso has announced the incumbent Kabore as the winner of the election. In a move to preempt any protest by the opposition parties, Kabore offered an olive branch to the opposition, which has criticized re-election fraught with fraudulent practices. Kabore said he would through continuous consultations through dialogue would work together for peace and development. This assurance he had given, while speaking at the party’s headquarters in the capital Ouagadougou. Preliminary results as reported by www.trendsnafrica.com showed Kabore winning nearly 58% of the vote.
His main opponents Eddie Komboigo, head of the Congress for Democracy and Progress, received 15 percent, and the other main challenger, Zephirin Diabre, from the Progress and Change Party, who lost to Kabore in 2015, garnered only about 12 percent.
Kabore has been criticized for lackluster response to a five-year-old militant insurgency spilled over from neighboring Mali. Pollsters were predicting his win in the election billed as the country’s most open elections since years. Since he has bagged more than 50% votes in the first round, he avoids a runoff vote in which he would have had to stand against a single candidate backed by a united opposition.
