Burkina Faso’s Interim President Says Security Situation Will Dictate Transition Timeline

Burkina Faso’s interim president, Paul-Henri Damiba, on Friday said the government’s 36-month transition timeline to democracy could be revised if the security situation in the country improves, reported Reuters.

The West African country is currently facing an insurgency by militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State which have killed thousands and displaced more than 1.7 million people.

“The sooner we manage to curb this situation, the sooner we will begin a return to a normal constitutional order,” Damiba said in a speech addressing the nation.

Burkina Faso’s military junta, which came to power after a coup in January, has resisted calls from West African leaders to shorten the timeline for elections to less than three years.

On Thursday, the junta dismissed regional bloc ECOWAS ‘ calls for the immediate release of former President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who has been under house arrest since the coup.

In fact, the Burkinabe government said that it will do things on its own terms.

“The government of Burkina Faso has only one deadline,” government spokesperson Wendkouni Lionel Bilgo said during a press conference. “The deadline is to do things right, to plan its actions in accordance with the realities on the ground, in all objectivity and with the greatest possible prudence and realism.”

The spokesperson said that the duration of the transition was adopted by consensus during the national conference.

He said that consultations had been initiated for three weeks for Kabore’s return to a family residence of his choice.

“When a solution is found, he will be in a residence with appropriate security,” Bilgo said.

The West African bloc ECOWAS has imposed sanctions on Mali and Guinea, whose military rulers are yet to return to constitutional order.

Burkina Faso’s military government has so far been spared but might soon face such sanctions if it makes no concessions.