Burkina Faso Junta Dissolves Electoral Commission, Citing Foreign Influence and High Costs

Burkina Faso’s military-led government has announced the dissolution of its Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), claiming the body is expensive and vulnerable to foreign interference.

Territorial Administration Minister Emile Zerbo said the commission, which costs nearly half a billion CFA francs (about $870,000) annually, was “budget intensive.”

Speaking on Wednesday evening, Zerbo confirmed that the council of ministers had approved a plan to scrap the commission and transfer its responsibilities to the territorial administration ministry.

The 15-member commission, composed of representatives from political parties and civil society, was originally tasked with overseeing elections in the country. It had long portrayed itself as an independent institution.

Zerbo said the move aims to “reinforce our sovereign control of the electoral process and at the same time limit foreign influences.”

This development comes amid growing efforts by the junta to distance itself from former colonial ruler France and assert national sovereignty. Since taking power in a September 2022 coup — the second in just eight months — Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s regime has delayed the democratic transition.

Initially, elections were scheduled for July 2024, but the junta extended the transition period by five years, citing national security concerns. The country has been battling a decade-long jihadist insurgency that has left thousands dead and millions displaced.

According to the revised transition charter, Captain Traoré will be eligible to contest the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections once they are held at the end of the five-year extension.

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