Burkina Faso’s new junta leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore said the West African nation would still aim to hold elections by 2024 or even earlier, as regional mediators headed to the country after its second coup this year.
The power grab is the latest setback for the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, which has tried to steer three of its 15 countries back toward democracy after a spate of coups in West Africa over the last two years.
Burkina Faso’s coup, announced Friday on state television, has raised fears that the country’s political chaos could deepen the region’s Islamic extremist violence, diverting the military’s attention from the crisis.
ECOWAS had reached an agreement with ousted leader Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba to hold a new vote by July 2024. Damiba, who himself had seized power in a coup early this year, agreed to resign Sunday and left for the neighboring nation of Togo.
In an interview with Radio France Internationale aired on Monday, Traore said the goal of elections by July 2024 is still possible.
“We hope that the return to normal constitutional order will take place even before that date, if the situation allows it,” he told RFI. “So, our wish is that it can be done before 2024.” NB: Sam Mednick and Arsene Kabore wrote this article for apnews.com
