Burkina Faso: Ibrahim Traoré to be inaugurated President of Transition Friday

The Constitutional Council in Burkina Faso announced that the leader of the junta in power in the country Ibrahim Traore will be sworn in on Friday as the President of the transition, less than a month after seizing power.

The Constitutional Council “takes note of the resignation” of Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, author of a putsch in January and himself overthrown on September 30 by Captain Traoré,” an ordinance of the council states.

The council “formally notes the vacancy of the Presidency”, it added.

The council indicated that Traore was designed Friday October 14, President of the Transition, Head of State, Supreme Chief of the National Armed Forces” by the National Conferences of the country’s active forces, held that Friday.

“The formal swearing in of Mr. Ibrahim Traoré (…) as President of the Transition is set for Friday, October 21 at 10:00 a.m. (local time and GMT) in the courtroom of the Constitutional Council,” the ordinance added.

Traore will lead the unstable West African country until 2024 when a new president is elected. He is barred from running for the elections to mark the end of the transition.