Burkino Faso’s National Independent Electoral Commission on Thursday announced President Roch Marc Christian Kabore as the winner of Sunday’s presidential election reported CGTN Africa.
“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 electoral commission.
Kabore won with nearly 58% of the vote, beating 12 other candidates and claiming victory in the first round. He received 1.6 million votes of the nearly 3 million cast, with voter turnout at 50%.
The opposition planned to split the vote and deprive Kabore of the 51% needed for a straightway victory and then form a coalition to support the strongest candidate for round two.
But Eddie Komboigo, head of the Congress for Democracy and Progress, received only 15% of the votes and the other leading rival, Zephirin Diabre, from the Progress and Change Party, received approximately 12% of the votes.
The election commission president said the final voting result is expected to be out on Saturday, which then must be verified by the constitutional court. The voting was held amid threats of attacks by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
In an address to the nation after results were announced, Kabore praised the democratic process, congratulated his opponents and promised to secure and unite Burkino Faso.
“It’s a significant responsibility to be the president of all Burkinabe, without exception,” he said.
The opposition has accused Kabore’s party of foul play, including bribing people. Opposition candidate, Tahirou Barry, claimed that the voting process was marred with fraud and the electoral commission was not up to the task of organizing responsible elections in Burkino Faso.
The electoral body has dismissed all such claims and an international observer mission gave the election a clean chit.
The opposition has seven days to appeal the vote results. It currently remains unclear if they would.
