Burkina Faso’s President Kabore wins second term

Roch Kabore the incumbent President of Burkina Faso, has  won the election with 57.87 per cent of votes, according to the election body Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday.

Having won more than 50 per cent of the total ballots cast, Kabore has secured enough votes to avoid a second round.

In a message posted on his social media platforms on Thursday, President Kabore said:

“From 5 to 20 November 2020, I travelled through the 13 regions of Burkina Faso to meet men and women who share an ideal: to build a Burkina Faso of security, prosperity and reconciliation.
“From the high basins to the East, the Middle East, Central-South, Sahel, Central-North, Central-Plateau, South-West, waterfalls, the Mouhoun loop, Centre-West and North, your support, your great mobilisation and blessing were a ferment that strengthened my commitment to Burkina Faso.
“Here, dear compatriots, I express my deep gratitude to the brave people of Burkina Faso.”

Some analysts had expected a closer contest on Sunday between Kabore, who was elected president of Burkina Faso in 2015, and his main rivals, who argued he had failed to contain jihadist and ethnic violence that forced one million people to flee their homes during his first term.

Sunday’s presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the shadow of violence, with a surge in attacks.

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The presidential election results read out by the election commission on Thursday showed Kaboré taking 57.87 per cent of the vote while his two closest rivals, Zephirin Diabre and Eddie Komboigo, got 12.46 per cent and 15.48 per cent, respectively.

Kaboré’s opponents have raised concerns about the validity of the vote count.

But the electoral commission has dismissed those and an international observer mission gave the election a mostly clean bill of health.

Abeeb Alawiye