Politics

Burkina Faso Incumbent Kabore Wins Presidential Election

Burkina Faso Incumbent Kabore Wins Presidential Election

 

 

 

 

Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore has won a second term after gaining an outright majority in the first round of elections, the country’s electoral board announced Thursday.

“Mr Kabore… with 57.87 percent of the vote, is provisionally elected president of (Burkina) Faso in the first round,” said Newton Ahmed Barry, head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

Eddie Komboigo, the candidate of a once-ruling party, came second in Sunday’s vote with 15.48 percent of the ballot, followed by Zephirin Diabre, considered by pundits to be the best-placed opposition hopeful, with 12.46 percent.

Kabore, 63, has been under fire for his response to a five-year-old jihadist insurgency that has rolled in from Mali.

But he was the favourite and by winning an overall majority 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 elections on Sunday were for Burkina’s legislature as well as its presidency, where executive power in the former French colony is concentrated.

The paramount court, the Constitutional Council, has a week in which to confirm the outcome.

One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso is struggling with a jihadist campaign that has claimed at least 1,200 lives since 2015 and forced around a million people to flee their homes.

Opposition parties say the vote was marked by fraud and flawed procedures, threatening to reject “results stained by irregularities.”

Their complaints include polling stations that either did not open or opened late, insecure handling of ballot boxes and arbitrary changes to voting areas.

Because of the unrest, the election was not held across at least one-fifth of the territory, denying up to 350,000 people the right to vote, according to CENI’s figures.

Pro-Kabore parties on Tuesday argued that all candidates were equally affected by the problems and that in any case these were not on a scale to have any major impact on the result.

AFP

Angela Davies

Recent Posts

Court Dismisses Case Against #EndBadGovernance Protesters

The court has dismissed the case against #EndBadGovernance protesters.   Glamtush reports that a Federal…

6 hours ago

FG Terminates ₦740bn Abuja-Kaduna Road Contract With Julius Berger Over Non-Performance

FG has terminated the ₦740bn Abuja-Kaduna road contract with Julius Berger over non-performance.   Glamtush reports…

6 hours ago

Ekiti Chief Judge, Adeyeye, Dies At 64

Ekiti Chief Judge, Adeyeye, has died at 64.   Glamtush reports that Justice Oyewole Adeyeye,…

7 hours ago

Access Bank Wins Best Digital, Best Website At 2024 Digital Jurist Awards

Access Bank PLC has been named the 2024 Best Digital Award winner in the Commercial…

8 hours ago

Top Summary From Nigerian Newspapers For Tuesday, November 5th, 2024

The top summary from Nigerian newspapers for Tuesday, November 5th, 2024, can be accessed on…

8 hours ago

Ekiti Governor Honours Primate Ayodele’s Late Father, Names Street After Him

The governor of Ekiti state, Biodun Oyebanji has honoured Primate Elijah Ayodele’s late father by…

20 hours ago