Burkina Faso’s transitional assembly inaugurated

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Burkina Faso’s Transitional Legislative Assembly was inaugurated Tuesday, with academic Aboubacar Toguyeni elected as its head.

Toguyeni received 59 votes out of 70 in a secret ballot in the nation’s capital, Ouagadougou, beating two other challengers.

The 58-year old teacher-researcher succeeds Bala Alassane Sakande, whose mandate was cut short by the coup d’état of Jan. 24 which ousted President Roch Kabore.

Toguyeni is one of 21 lawmakers who were appointed by Burkina Faso’s transitional President Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

In July 2018, Toguyeni was appointed professor of fisheries sciences at the Institute of Rural Development of Nazi Boni University in Burkina Faso. He is also the executive secretary of the Network of Sahel Universities for Resilience.

In his remarks after the election, Toguyeni said he chose to run for political office in order “to be actively involved in the search for solutions to the country’s challenges.”

“Leaving my field of teaching, research and development was not out of personal interest, it is because I firmly believe in the necessary contribution of all Burkinabe towards reconstruction of a new Burkina Faso,” he said.

He promised to ensure the dignity and honor of the institution of parliament in its quest for the stability of the country.

With a doctorate in fisheries sciences, Toguyeni pursued his undergraduate studies in Burkina Faso and then continued further education in Mauritania and France.

He has worked with different organizations in West, Central and East Africa, but also in Europe, Asia, the US and Australia.

The duration of the transition is set at 36 months from the date of the inauguration of the president, according to the transition charter signed by junta leader Damiba earlier this month.

Damiba was inaugurated on March 2 as the transitional president. Under the transitional charter, Burkina Faso will have 71 members of parliament.

A list of 70 members of the Transitional Legislative Assembly was unveiled last week.

Damiba led a group of soldiers who ousted President Kabore, who has been in detention since the coup.

Last week, a representative of West Africa’s regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it would not abandon Burkina Faso despite concerns about the military’s plan to hold power for three years after the coup.

The remarks by Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway came after she had led the ECOWAS delegation to Ouagadougou.

Botchway said the bloc remained concerned about the three-year period for transition back to democracy, though the military leadership has explained their reasoning.

ECOWAS and the African Union suspended Burkina Faso from their governing bodies following the coup.