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Compaore for ever
23/08/05, Martin Luther King
In Burkina Faso, democracy appears to have acquired a new meaning.
Instead of "government by the people, of the people and for the
people," critics say it is now "government for Blaise Compaore and by
Compaore." The critics levelled the accusation after the long-serving
President Compaore announced that he will stand again in elections
scheduled for November 13. He personally announced his intention in his
hometown of Ziniare, 35 km from the capital, Ouagadougou. But the
opposition says the move is unconstitutional.
Compaore, a former army captain, seized power in a bloody coup in 1987.
Trading his military fatigues for civilian dress, he went on to win two
landslide elections in 1991 and 1998 that were boycotted by the main
opposition parties, who complained that the electoral system was opaque
and unfair.
"The most important issue is to win over the public and reassure them
that we can ensure the continued progress of Burkina Faso," Compaore
said in comments broadcast on Radio France Internationale.
At the heart of the row over Compaore's candidacy is whether a recent
amendment to the west African nation's constitution should be applied
retroactively. In April 2000, parliament voted to reduce the
presidential term from seven years to five and to allow a leader to be
re-elected only once.
That, says the opposition, means that Compaore, who has already served
two seven-year terms, should not be allowed to bid for a third.
"Compaore will be completing his second term in November... and will be
violating the constitution if he stays on," said Benewende Sankara, the
leader of the opposition Union for Renewal party, who is planning to
stand in the presidential poll himself.
"Compaore's candidacy is improper not only in legal terms... it's
improper because after 18 years of his rule Burkina Faso is one of the
poorest countries on the planet even though there's no war and
politically things are stable," Sankara stated.
The UN Human Development Index ranks Burkina Faso as the third poorest
nation in the world, with an estimated 80 percent of its 13 million
people living on less than US $2 a day.
Hermann Yameogo-son of Burkina Faso's first post-independence
president, the leader of the National Union for Democracy and
Development and another opposition candidate in November's election-is
also incensed but not surprised. "This regime has never bothered itself
with respecting the laws of this country," he alleged.
However, the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), which
selected Compaore as its candidate in June, says the opposition has got
its legal and moral arguments wrong.
"Legally, President Compaore can be a candidate," said Salif Diallo,
the director of Compaore's campaign and the current Agriculture
minister. A constitutional revision brings a new constitution with it
and the old formula no longer holds. We in the CDP believe that there
is a need for a prolonged stability for the political body so as to
strengthen democracy. The president's positive results lead us to
endorse his candidacy... Today human rights and economic growth are
realities."
Political stability followed Compaore's military coup which was the
fifth since independence from France in 1960. And Compaore at one point
was free to rule for life. In 1997, the president's party amended the
constitution, removing all restrictions on the number of times someone
could stand for re-election.
However the social unrest that erupted in the wake of the so-called
Zongo Affair in 1998 meant that the change was short-lived. The Zongo
Affair was named for Norbert Zongo, the journalist and government
critic, who was assassinated while investigating the death of a driver
employed by Compaore's brother.
Zongo's murder-which was later linked to the government by an
independent, internationally-backed inquiry-prompted a series of
massive strikes and public demonstrations, as Burkinabes railed about
the lack of freedom of speech and the suppression of political
opposition. The reforms that were brought in to appease the public
included re-establishing presidential term limits.
Aside from the issue of whether the 2000 constitutional amendment
should be applied retroactively, the opposition groups are also unhappy
about changes to Burkina Faso's electoral code, passed last year. The
country's electoral unit changed from the region-of which there are 15-
to the province, of which there are 45. The opposition says that this
gives the government an unfair advantage as it will be impossible for
them to field candidates and polling observers in all of the new zones.
They also allege that fraud has occurred as voter registers have been
computerised, with some people's records going on file several
times. "All these manoeuvres do not suggest transparent elections in
November," Sankara said.
But the government refutes these claims. Diallo, Compaore's campaign
manager, declared: "Nobody can accuse us of not creating the conditions
for transparent elections. We have always strived for fair elections."
Analysts reckon that Compaore should triumph in the November poll.
Apart from the incumbency factor, the lack of unity among the many
opposition parties is also likely to split their vote. There are so far
15 opposition candidates vying for the presidency and even Alternance
2005, which is supposed to be an umbrella group of several parties, has
seen more than one nomination emerge from its fold.
As London-based researchers Global Insight said in a recent briefing
note: "With the state apparatus at his command and the vast majority of
Burkinabes having no pressing problems with his current dispensation,
the President is, of course, the favourite candidate."
September 2005
PETER W.VAKUNTA
DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON
602 VAN HISE HALL
1220 LINDEN DRIVE
MADISON WI 53706-1525
U.S.A
Office 608 262 4067
Home 608 422 6089
Cell 608 381 0407
"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of the wise man is
in his heart."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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