Following a coup last month, Burkina Faso’s new military strongman, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, has been named president by the country’s top constitutional authority, according to legal sources. ayokinews.com reports
According to them, Burkina Faso’s new President is “Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, Lieutenant-Colonel in the national armed forces and President of the Patriotic Movement for Preservation and Restoration (the junta’s official name).”
Damiba is also the country’s president and the military’s top commander, according to the report. The move backed up the junta’s statement on January 31 that Damiba would be appointed to those positions for a transitional period, with two vice presidents assisting him.
The Constitutional Council said later Thursday, that Damiba’s ceremonial swearing-in will take place on February 16 in Ouagadougou, the capital.
On January 24, dissatisfied soldiers headed by Lt. Col Damiba deposed Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Burkina Faso’s elected president, over his handling of a violent Islamist insurgency.
Under pressure from Burkina Faso’s West African allies, the junta revoked its suspension of the constitution and lifted a midnight curfew last week.
However, the essential question of when the elections will take place remains unresolved.
The junta promised on January 24 to restore “constitutional order” in a “reasonable time.”
On Saturday, the Junta announced the formation of a 15-member panel tasked with “drawing up a draft charter and agenda, together with a proposal for the duration of the transition period.”
The panel will have two weeks to provide their report.
Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest and most violent countries, is battling a terrorist onslaught that has cost over 2,000 lives and driven 1.5 million people to abandon their homes.
ECOWAS has suspended the country, although sanctions have not been imposed as a result of the reinstatement of the constitution last week. The UN Security Council voiced “deep concern” over Burkina Faso’s “unconstitutional change of government” on Wednesday, but did not call it a military coup or condemn it explicitly.
Source (Credit): AFP
