Following gunfire in several Burkina Faso barracks on Sunday, the military, united under the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), seized power on Monday January 24th, 2022.  The MPSR announced on national television the suspension of the Constitution, the dissolution of the National Assembly and the closure of the country’s borders. A night-time curfew was also imposed. President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who was earlier arrested by the mutineers, was then forced to resign. 

This confusing situation violates the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) which, in its articles 2 and 23, prohibits, rejects and condemns any unconstitutional change of government in any member state of the African Union (AU). As for the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, it stipulates that any accession to power must be through free, fair and transparent elections. It also states that any unconstitutional change is prohibited, as well as any undemocratic method of accession to or retention of power.  

AfricTivistes echoes these fundamental texts and cannot support an unconstitutional change of government.

In less than two years, three West African countries have experienced a military coup. After Mali and Guinea, Burkina Faso has fallen into the hands of a military junta. Let’s not overlook the cases of Sudan and Chad. The resurgence of this scourge on the continent is of concern to AfricTivistes, which defends the democratic and peaceful transition of power.

In addition to strongly condemning this act, we reaffirm our support for the population and the civil society. We also call for a swift return to constitutional order and for the demands of the people to be taken into account in the next stages of the political process.

AfricTivistes demands the immediate release of President Roch Marc Kaboré and a rapid transfer of power to civilians. We call on the military to uphold republican and democratic loyalty to power.

AfricTivistes encourages national consensus and hopes for the facilitation of peaceful and transparent transfers of power.

We call on the military junta to uphold the political commitments made by Burkina Faso to institutions such as the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and instruments such as the ACDEG , etc. In addition, AfricTivistes urges these regional institutions to shift their paradigm for a multi-stakeholder collaboration that goes beyond interactions with the executive powers of the member states. In doing so, they can contribute to building tomorrow’s Africa with the countries’ active forces through preventive actions that strengthen good governance; and by default, slow down or stop the destabilization of the continent’s democratic gains.  

AfricTivistes calls above all for peace and respect for human rights in the country and urges the active forces of Burkina Faso to promote dialogue and the peaceful settlement of political disputes.