Burkina Faso talks agree plan for transitional authority

Opposition parties, civil society groups and religious leaders have adopted a plan for a transitional authority to guide Burkina Faso to elections, after a popular uprising forced long-time president Blaise Compaore from power.

Lieut Col Isaac Zida declared himself head of state on November 1st after Mr Compaore resigned and fled the country last month, following mass protests against his efforts to change the constitution to seek re-election in 2015 after 27 years in power. The west African nation is under pressure to quickly return to civilian rule or face possible international sanctions.

The charter agreed yesterday, after days of talks in the capital Ouagadougou, is to be presented to Lieut Col Zida, the operational commander of the elite presidential guard, this week. Military representatives did not participate.

The document calls for a 90-member transitional parliament with 10 military representatives, 40 from the opposition and 30 from civil society. The remaining 10 seats will be allocated to other parties, including Mr Compaore’s former political allies, which did not take part in the talks.

An interim government is proposed, whose 25 members will not be permitted to stand in presidential and legislative elections expected to take place late next year. “It’s a text that seems to unite everyone. Now the sticking point is the choice of the man who will preside over the transition,” Roch Marc Christian Kabore, head of the opposition People’s Movement for Progress party, said.

Lieut Col Zida has pledged to quickly hand over power to a civilian transitional leader. The document also calls for the creation of a special college to choose a transitional president, who will prepare for the elections next year. The body would include seven members from the military, 15 each from the political parties and civil society and eight religious and traditional leaders. – (Reuters)