Burkinabe presidential election, 2005
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A presidential election was held in Burkina Faso on November 13, 2005. The incumbent president, Blaise Compaoré, was re-elected with about 80% of the vote.
Compaoré has been in power since October 1987, was first elected in 1991, and was re-elected in 1998. In August 2005, he announced his intention to maintain his presidency for a third term. Opposition politicians argued that Compaoré could not run in the election because a constitutional amendment passed in 2000 limits a president to two terms. The amendment also reduces the term length from seven to five years. Compaoré's supporters, however, argued that the amendment could not be applied retroactively.[1]
In October 2005, the Constitutional Council ruled that because Compaoré was President in 2000, the amendment would not apply until the end of his current mandate, thereby allowing his candidacy in the 2005 election.
The President of Burkina Faso has strong, executive power, and appoints the Prime Minister. Compaoré was widely expected to win. His popularity rating was placed at 61.2%, and of the twelve opposition candidates, his most notable opponent Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara, the candidate for the Alternance 2005 coalition, had only 5% of the population's support.
The most contentious political issues facing the nation's government are freedom of press, economic viability, and tension with neighboring Côte d'Ivoire caused by alleged Burkinabé support for Ivorian insurgents and the migration of several workers to the Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Compaoré's campaign manager Salif Diallo expressed confidence in his candidate: "Our objective is not the victory of our candidate in the first round - that's already a sure thing, given the mobilisation of our supporters and the popularity of our candidate. Our goal is rather that the turnout and the lead be high."
On October 27 and 28, 18 labour unions called a two-day strike for higher salaries and pensions, and lower taxes on basic necessities. While in Gaskinde, Sankara supportively stated, "The labour union strikes demonstrate that the citizens have had enough of this government."
Following Compaoré's victory, he was sworn in for another term on December 20, 2005 in Ouagadougou.[1]
[edit] Final results
| Candidates - Nominating parties | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Blaise Compaoré - Congress for Democracy and Progress (Congrès pour la Démocratie et le Progrès) | 1,660,148 | 80.35 |
| Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara - Union for Rebirth/Sankarist Movement (Union pour la Renaissance/Mouvement Sankariste) | 100,816 | 4.88 |
| Laurent Bado - National Rebirth Party (Parti de la Renaissance Nationale) | 53,743 | 2.60 |
| Philippe Ouédraogo - Party for Democracy and Socialism (Parti pour la Démocratie et le Socialisme) | 47,146 | 2.28 |
| Ram Ouédraogo - Rally of the Ecologists of Burkina | 42,061 | 2.04 |
| Ali Lankoandé - Party for Democracy and Progress/Socialist Party (Parti pour la Démocratie et le Progrès/Parti Socialiste) | 35,949 | 1.74 |
| Norbert Tiendrébéogo - Social Forces Front (Front des Forces Sociales) | 33,353 | 1.61 |
| Soumane Touré - African Independence Party (Parti Africain de l’Indépendance) | 23,266 | 1.13 |
| Gilbert Bouda - Burkinabé Party for Recasting | 21,658 | 1.05 |
| Pargui Emile Paré - Socialist Alliance | 17,998 | 0.87 |
| Hermann Yaméogo - National Union for the Defense of Democracy | 15,685 | 0.76 |
| Toubé Clément Dakio - Union for Democracy and Development | 7,741 | 0.37 |
| Nayabtigungu Congo Kaboré - Movement for Tolerance and Progress | 6,706 | 0.32 |
| Total (Turnout 57.7 %) | 2,066,270 | 100.0 |
| Invalid votes | 196,629 | |
| Total votes | 2,262,899 | |
| Registered Voters | 3,924,328 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Mme Brigitte Girardin a représenté la France à la cérémonie d’investiture de M. Blaise Compaoré (Ouagadougou, 20 décembre 2005)", French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (French).
[edit] External links
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