https://x.com/marcus_herve/status/1946530121600602584🛑🇧🇫- Dissolution of the Electoral Commission, here’s why and what is next.
This Wednesday, July 16th, the Council of ministers examined a draft law to dissolve the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).
Founded in 2001 after the Sapouy tragedy, the CENI's mission was to organize elections in a transparent and peaceful manner, in a context of political tensions.
The Sapouy tragedy was about the assassination of investigative journalist Norbert Zongo, editor of the newspaper L’Indépendant, who was known for his investigations into sensitive cases, notably the murder of David Ouédraogo, driver of François Compaoré, former President Blaise Compaoré’s little brother.
His investigations into this scandal and a possible revision of Article 37 of the Constitution, allowing for the indefinite re-election of Blaise, were perceived as embarrassing to the ruling power. So, they assassinated him on December 13th, 1998.
This assassination sparked a wave of massive protests in Ouagadougou and other cities in Burkina Faso 🇧🇫, exacerbating sociopolitical tensions.
The demonstrations demanded justice for Zongo and his companions, as well as reform of the electoral system to ensure greater transparency and independence.
In response to this crisis, the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) was created in 2001 to calm the sociopolitical climate and strengthen the credibility of electoral processes.
But over the years, the institution has faced numerous structural dysfunctions: disagreements over the appointment of its members, differences over the length of mandates, and internal conflicts undermining its credibility.
A Rupture with the Old Model
The reform is part of the political reconstruction process initiated following the events of September 30 and October 1 and 2, 2022, which led to a change of regime.
The Transition Charter, revised in May 2024 where @CapitaineIb226
was officially made President, provides for a thorough reorganization of the country's electoral institutions.
Among the main measures envisaged:
•The abolition of institutions deemed redundant, such as the CENI;
• The professionalization of the electoral process, now entrusted to qualified, independent and non-partisan actors;
• Reducing costs by relying on existing administrative structures rather than specific bodies.
Towards a Renewed Electoral Governance
With this bill, the Burkinabe government seeks to break with the practices of political division and segmented representation that have often weakened institutions.
The stated ambition is to create a more transparent, credible, and inclusive electoral process, serving a peaceful and modernized “democracy”.
So, you see, this is the truth that the legacy media won’t tell you. They want you to believe that Captain is a dictator and that through this move, he is positioning himself in power for life.
But, here’s the thing, even if he remains there for life, so what? What’s their problem? Is Burkina Faso theirs? It’s none of their business.
Europe is not my center as Sembène Ousmane once said. So, Europe is not the center of the world, therefore, their so called “democracy” hasn’t, can’t, and won’t be the compass of governance.
By the way, although these are reforms, I personally advocate that just how we gathered together to elect Captain to be President, we should keep this way as our way of electing leaders.
I have said it before, the State doesn’t have to spend a penny, and if the leader doesn’t listen to us, we can easily remove him. Look into our history and you will find that this was how our ancestors chose their leaders.
But in the name of “democracy”, sellouts like William Ruto, Allassane Ouattara, Patrice Talon, Emmanuel Macron etc cannot be removed from office.
You have to follow “democratic” processes of impeachment which will likely never happen, or simply wait for the next 5 years to vote him out. No! This is Burkina Faso 🇧🇫! Homeland or Death!