BURKINA Faso’s junta has announced a ban on all political parties, whose activities have been suspended since the military seized power in 2022.
Junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré has been criticised for suppressing dissent and the move will be seen as the latest move to tighten control.
According to Burkina Faso’s Interior Minister Emile Zerbo, the ban is part of plans to “rebuild the state” after what he said were “numerous abuses” in the country’s multiparty system.
Zerbo said the system had been “promoting division among citizens and weakening the social fabric”.
Parties were previously banned from holding public gatherings but the new decree stops them from operating altogether.
All the assets of the dissolved parties would be transferred to the state, Zerbo said, adding that a draft law would be sent to the Transitional Legislative Assembly “as soon as possible”.
The country had more than 100 registered political parties before the coup, with 15 represented in parliament after the 2020 general election.
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“This will not help the country move forward. We’re not happy with this,” a member of a civil society group, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, told the BBC.
“The regime has been pushing the idea that democracy is useless or harmful for Burkina. [Traoré] may be settling in for the long run but given the country’s history, no leader is ever fully secure. Another coup is never far from the horizon.”
The banning of political parties also received some backlash on social media, but a number of other Burkinabes went online to support the junta’s decision.
“It is undeniable that a country like Burkina Faso having over 100 political parties creates chaos,” one Traoré supporter said on X.
“This fragmentation often led to clientelism and corruption, where parties function more like business ventures than civic organisations.”
Traoré’s 2022 coup ousted Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had taken power only nine months earlier.
Traoré pledged to restore the civilian government by 1 July 2024 but two months before this deadline, the junta announced it would extend its rule for another five years.
Despite his authoritarian reputation, 37-year-old Traoré has gained a huge following across the continent for his pan-Africanist vision and criticism of Western influence.
Burkina Faso is one of several West African countries who have experienced coups, followed by the restriction of political parties and electoral institutions, in recent years.
One of the coup leaders, Guinea’s Gen Mamady Doumbouya, last month stood for election and won by a landslide.