Ibrahim Traoré is officially at the head of Burkina Faso.

This captain, author of a putsch on Friday in a country which has experienced two coups in eight months, was appointed president on Wednesday pending the appointment of a transitional president by "National Assizes".

"The President of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration (MPSR) assumes the functions of Head of State, Supreme Head of the National Armed Forces", indicates a declaration entitled Fundamental Act, which completes the Constitution of Burkina, "pending the adoption of a transition charter”.

This statement was read by Captain Kiswendsida Farouk Azaria Sorgho, spokesman for the MPSR, the ruling junta, during a special broadcast on national television.

National meetings "well before the end of the year"

Captain Traoré assured Monday on RFI radio that he would only expedite "current affairs" until the appointment of a new civilian or military transitional president by "National Assizes" bringing together political, social forces and civil society, which should meet "well before the end of the year".

The act adopted on Wednesday specifies that while "pending the establishment of the transitional bodies", the MPSR "is the guarantor of national independence, territorial integrity, permanence and continuity of State, respect for international treaties and agreements to which Burkina Faso is a party”.

The Constitution, suspended after the putsch on Friday, has been restored and "applies except for its contrary provisions" to the Fundamental Act.

ECOWAS says it is "confident"

By overthrowing Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who himself came to power by force in January 2022, Ibrahim Traoré, 34, becomes the youngest head of state in the world.

He takes the head of a state scarred by war since 2015, and partly justified his coup by blaming his predecessor for "the continuous deterioration of the security situation".

A majority of the territory escapes the control of the State, in particular on the side of the borders with Mali and Niger.

Ibrahim Traoré received on Tuesday a delegation from the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which came to assess the situation a few days after the putsch.

She left "confident", according to former Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou, member of the delegation and ECOWAS mediator for Burkina.

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  • Putsch

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  • ECOWAS