Burkina Faso: Junta vows to stick to proposed timeline for transition

Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba leader of the junta ruling Burkina Faso pledged Monday to stick to the 24-month transition roadmap agreed upon with ECOWAS.

Damiba made the pledge as he met with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan.

Damiba who heads the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration now rules the West African country after toppling elected leader Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on January 24 this year.
ECOWAS banned the country from the regional body as it demanded a constitutional order and elections for a new civilian leader.

The junta proposed a 24-month roadmap starting from July 1st this year. “The commitments made at the level of ECOWAS will be respected and the transition will work in the first instance to bring more stability to the interior of the country and will organize elections for a return to a normal constitutional order,” Damiba said.

Ouattara indicated that Ouagadougou was making efforts in line with the commitment. “At the level of ECOWAS, we considered that Burkina was doing a lot of work and should continue to be supported, and that we should make sure that you could establish a reasonable transition timetable, and that is what you have done. Of course, the end of this process must be democratic elections in due course. We trust you to live up to the commitments that you have made,” the Ivorian leader said.