People of Burkina Faso should forget about democracy, says military ruler
Democracy is irrelevant for Burkina Faso, claims military leader
Ibrahim Traoré, the current head of state in Burkina Faso, has declared that the people should abandon hopes for democratic governance. In a recent interview with the state-controlled Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina (RTB), he asserted that democracy is not suitable for the nation. Traoré seized power through a coup in September 2022, ending the rule of a previous military government that had been in place since March 2022.
Transition plans delayed by junta
A democratic transition had been scheduled for 2024, but Traoré’s regime extended its authority until 2029. Since assuming control, the military has restricted political activity, including the outright ban of parties in January 2024. Traoré dismissed the idea of elections, arguing that democracy has failed in the country’s context.
“We’re not even talking about elections, first of all… People need to forget about the question of democracy… We must tell the truth, democracy isn’t for us,” Traoré stated during the interview.
The 37-year-old leader criticized democracy as a system that leads to violence, citing examples like the killing of children and civilians. “Democracy, we kill children. Democracy, we drop bombs, we kill women, we destroy hospitals, we kill civilian population. Is that democracy?” he added, framing his rule as a necessary alternative to the chaos of democratic governance.
Legacy of Sankara fuels rhetoric
Traoré’s anti-Western stance echoes the policies of Thomas Sankara, the former Marxist president of Burkina Faso who renamed the country from Upper Volta in 1983. Sankara was assassinated in 1987, but his revolutionary legacy continues to inspire leaders like Traoré. However, the current junta has struggled to curb a jihadist insurgency that has killed over 1,800 civilians since 2023, according to Human Rights Watch.
HRW accused the military, allied militias, and al-Qaida-linked JNIM of committing atrocities, including ethnic cleansing and targeted killings. The report also highlighted the displacement of 2.1 million people, approximately 9% of the population, since 2014. In April 2024, the group revealed that 223 civilians were executed in a single day, a claim the government denied and used to justify banning HRW and several international media outlets, including The Guardian.
