Burkina Faso’s 26 member cabinet held its first meeting on Monday. Appointed by coup leader and current Prime Minister Isaac ZidaYacouba, the cabinet will govern the country’s affairs until the November 2015 elections.
With the exception of AdamaSagnon who resigned as Culture and Tourism Minister on Tuesday after two days protests, the cabinet has been well-received.
October’s military coup ousted former President Blaise Compaore after he tried to further extend his 27 years of rule by amending the country’s constitution. President Michel Kafando, a longtime diplomat, was appointed in his place last week.
Security studies and a comparative politics expert Rebecca Cruise says that Compaore’s attempt to change the constitution was really the last straw. Created in 2000, the constitution sets firm term limits for the president.
“This is one of the issues with having a constitution or elections that potentially legitimize an authoritarian leader,” Cruise says. “These can sometimes work to their favor and they can show how much faux democratic support they have, but in other ways this allows the people to point to something and say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. These are our rights, we have these abilities, and this should be more of a people-centered government.’”
Cruise says that it will be important to watch what happens in Burkina Faso. Many countries in the region, including Liberia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone, have rulers who are coming to the end of their terms. If there isn’t a smooth transition of power, they may be in a similar situation.
There is hope for the future of Burkina Faso, though.
“This was a military coup, but they put a diplomat in power in the interim government,” Cruise says. “We will see, then, if those elections that they are calling for actually take place and if those look fairly legitimate. And maybe that will be a signpost for other countries in the region.”
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