Military Coup in Burkina Faso a Remnant of Compaoré’s Reign

When a popular uprising in Burkina Faso toppled its authoritarian president of 27 years, many observers reacted optimistically, citing the upcoming scheduled elections as a step in the right direction for a country led for nearly three decades by Blaise Compaoré.

These hopes were cast into doubt, however, on September 16, when members of Compaoré’s secret service, the Regiment of Presidential Security (RSP), launched a coup, detaining the interim president, prime minister, and cabinet. The RSP then established a ruling junta, self-styled as the National Council for Democracy (CND). In the following week, after negotiations facilitated by a group of West African heads of state, the CND conceded that the coup had failed. The interim government was returned to power and the RSP was disbanded.

Nevertheless, the elections have been pushed back as a result of the political uncertainty. Initially planned for October 11th, the elections have not been rescheduled, though the draft agreement through which the CND relinquished power set a November 22 deadline.

This instability highlights the continued effect Compaoré’s rule has on the political climate in Burkina Faso today.  

During his 27 years of rule, Compaoré allowed little opposition to his authority. This included limiting the development of potential leaders, even within his own ranks, as they could threaten his grip on power. The results of this tactic became especially clear after his ouster last October, when a dearth of Burkinabé politicians capable of leading the country became apparent. Compaoré’s departure left a power vacuum, and his decades of suppressing ascendant politicians ensured that few truly qualified candidates were available to fill the void.

Discerning a middle ground between holding truly free elections and preventing enablers of Compaoré’s rule from running for president has proven difficult. The interim government initially banned Compaoré’s associates from running at all, but the aforementioned draft agreement . Of the major candidates expected to be on the ballot, three held cabinet positions under Compaoré and a fourth now leads Compaoré’s party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP). Only one, Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara, has no affiliation to Compaoré, his government, or his party.

Sankara is a lawyer who worked closely with Thomas Sankara (no relation), the populist leader of Burkina Faso until he was deposed and assassinated in the coup that brought Compaoré to power in 1987.

While president, Thomas Sankara re-oriented Burkina Faso away from Western influence through dependence on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, arguing that these were tools of a continued colonization of Africa by Europe and North America. He fought corruption and nationalized the country’s farmland, increasing crop yields and decreasing dependence on imports. His Marxist views generated opposition from the United States and France, particularly in regard to his curtailment of the freedom of the press. Compaoré justified his seizure of power in 1987 and subsequent reversal of many previous policies by Burkina Faso’s deteriorated relations with the West and the country’s neighboring states under President Sankara.

Since then, Sankara has become a figure to rally around for the Burkinabé opposition, with many hoping that Compaoré’s ouster would lead to a return to the policies President Sankara initiated. Nearly a dozen Sankarist parties in Burkina Faso have consolidated their support behind Bénéwendé Sankara, who has promised to fight the corruption that ran rampant under Compaoré and to establish a true electoral democracy in Burkina Faso.