Burkina Faso’s Traoré Tells Citizens to Forget Democracy

Burkina Faso’s junta leader, Ibrahim Traoré, who has held on to power for nearly four years, has told Burkinabés to forget about democracy.

“Democracy is killing. Wherever they want to install it in the world, it’s in the blood. Democracy is slavery. There is no democracy in this world. They impose it when they want, and to establish it, they kill. Imperialism is the individual who wants to dominate the other, keep him in slavery and oppress him,” he said during an interview on Thursday.

Traoré led a coup that overthrew the previous junta in Burkina Faso in 2022. He is known for nationalist, anti‑Western, and pan‑African rhetoric, rejecting what he views as foreign domination and neocolonial influence. He had pledged to restore democracy to the country by July 2024, but extended his rule by five years just two months before the deadline.

The Burkinabe junta leader launched the Popular Progressive Revolution (RPP) in April 2024 to establish national sovereignty and economic independence through anti-imperialism.

Speaking in an interview aired on state television on Thursday, which marked the one-year anniversary of the RPP, he compared the West African country with Libya, which was ruled for 40 years by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, before he was killed in 2011 by Western military intervention.

Since Gaddafi’s death, the country has failed to hold elections. The North African country is now split between two rival administrations.

“People need to forget about the issue of democracy. Democracy is not for us. Look at Libya, this is an example close to us,” said Traoré.

His administration placed a ban on political parties in January 2026. Traoré addressed this during Thursday’s interview. The 38-year-old junta leader described political parties as divisive, dangerous and incompatible with the revolutionary project.

“The truth is, politics in Africa – or at least what we’ve experienced in Burkina – is that a real politician is someone who embodies every vice: a liar, a sycophant, a smooth-talker,” he said.