Burkina Faso: Presidential and general elections on Oct. 11

Burkina Faso will hold presidential and legislative elections on October 11, a year after the West African state’s long-ruling President Blaise Compaore was ousted by mass protests, the interim government said on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched in the capital Ouagadougou last October to protest against Compaore’s efforts to change the constitution to allow him to stand for re-election in 2015.

The military then briefly seized power after Compaore resigned quit and left the country.

“If there are no incidents or accidents, and if the elections proceed normally, we will inaugurate those who will replace us in November 2015,” interim President Michel Kafando told reporters.

Under Burkina Faso’s transitional charter, and in a bid to turn a page from the past, no officials (including the interim president) or ministers within the current government are authorized to run for president in October.

Source: Reuters