Ouagadougou – A “national forum” gathering political parties, trade unions and grassroots groups met in Burkina Faso on Monday to look at plans to return the country to civilian rule following a military coup two months ago.
The meeting in the capital Ouagadougou discussed a “draft transition constitutional charter” drawn up by a junta-appointed commission, sources there said.
The forum comes on the heels of regional demands for a swift return to civilian rule after Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, a 41-year-old colonel, seized power in January.
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The charter stipulates a 30-month transition period that will be followed by presidential, legislative and local elections.
The interim leader “will not be eligible” to stand in those elections, it says.
The document seen by AFP also calls for the establishment of a 20-member government led by a civilian prime minister and a legislature of 51 people.
One of the poorest and most volatile countries in the world, the landlocked Sahel state was rocked by the ouster on January 24 of its elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
Soldiers angered at his handling of a bloody six-year-old jihadist insurgency took control.
Damiba was sworn in as interim head of state and chief of the armed forces on February 16.
Burkina’s regional neighbours, Mali and Guinea, have been hit with tough sanctions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for delays in returning to civilian rule after military takeovers.
Burkina, like those countries, has been suspended from ECOWAS activities.
The junta has so far has escaped wider punishment but told to provide a “reasonable” timetable “for the return to constitutional order”.
Among priorities set for the transition period, the charter says the authorities should “fight terrorism, restore national territorial integrity and ensure security” and “strengthen governance and fight corruption”, another grievance levelled against Kabore.
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The “national forum” includes the junta, represented by Lieutenant-Colonel Evrard Somda; a commander in the gendarmerie, or police; and representatives of the many people who have been displaced by violence.
More than 2 000 people have died since the first jihadist attacks in 2015, according to an AFP tally, while the country’s emergencies agency says more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes.
Kabore remains under house arrest after his ouster, despite international calls for his release.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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