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Burkina Faso’s military-led government has announced the dissolution of its Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), citing concerns over cost and “foreign influences.”
The now-scrapped body was composed of 15 commissioners representing political parties and civil society. It had long claimed to operate independently, overseeing electoral processes in the country. However, the junta has questioned both its neutrality and its financial burden.
“Subsidised with nearly half a billion CFA francs (around $870,000) each year… (it) is budget intensive,” said Minister of Territorial Administration Emile Zerbo during a press briefing on Wednesday evening. He confirmed that the Council of Ministers had approved a plan to dissolve the commission, with all electoral matters now to be managed by his ministry.
Zerbo argued that the decision would “reinforce our sovereign control on the electoral process and at the same time limit foreign influences.”
The military government, which has taken a more nationalist stance since coming to power, has continued to distance itself from France, its former colonial ruler. The country is currently led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a September 2022 coup—Burkina Faso’s second coup that year.
Elections had originally been scheduled for July 2023, but the junta extended the transition period by five years, effectively pushing democratic elections to 2029. The initial transition process had begun after the January 2022 coup, with a target of returning to civilian rule by July 2024.
Under the terms of the transition charter, Captain Traoré will be eligible to run in the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections at the end of the five-year period. The West African nation continues to face deep insecurity, with terrorists claiming thousands of lives over nearly a decade.
