In the announcement aired early on Thursday Sep 17,2015 on national television and radio, the statement said that the transitional government in the West African country had been dissolved.
The statement came a day after members of the elite presidential guard unit of the military arrested the transitional president and prime minister.
The communique read by Lieutenant Colonel Mamadou Bamba criticised the electoral code, which blocked members of the ex-president's party from taking part in the October 11 elections.
Anyone who supported the ex-president's bid to amend the
constitution so he could seek another term is also banned from running.
Bamba on Thursday announced the beginning of a "coherent, fair and equitable process" that would lead to inclusive elections. The power grab violates the country's constitution.
The military's public statement confirmed what many suspected yesterday when the transitional president Michel Kafandov (right) and prime minister Isaac Zida (left) were arrested
General Gilbert Diendere, the one-time powerful aide to deposed Burkina
Faso president Blaise Compaore, has been announced as the head of the
country's new ruling authority
Throughout the morning, supporters of the ousted interim president,Michael Kafando, and the prime minister, Isaac Zida, assembled in protest in various neighborhoods OUAGADOUGOU- capital of Burkina Faso, yelling, “Free the hostages!” They were dispersed by warning shots from military patrols that crisscrossed the capital
Who’s behind the coup?
The coup was carried out by members of the presidential guard, known by its French acronym RSP, the elite unit was set up for self-protection by Compaore and is seen as still loyal to the former presidentThe RSP frequently operates independently from other forces, and it was not yet clear how much support they had from the rest of the military
Whatever Compaore’s role, the seizure of power was led by his closest political ally. Gen. Gilbert Diendere, named Thursday Sep 17,2015as chairman of the so-called National Council for Democracy, was Compaore’s right-hand man during his nearly three decades of autocratic rule.
On Wednesday Sep 16,2015, soldiers burst into a cabinet meeting and took the country’s interim President Michel Kafando, Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida and two government ministers captive.
The coup leaders, calling themselves the National Council for Democracy, appeared on Burkinabe television on Thursday Sep 17,2015 to announce that they had taken power
What do they want?
The generals claimed to be acting in the interest of the country, saying that the upcoming elections would be too divisive because Compaore’s supporters were barred from running. The transitional government passed an electoral law in April blocking members of Compaore’s Congress for Democracy and Progress party -- and anyone who supported his bid to extend his rule last year -- from elected office.
However, the unit may have had even more pressing concerns --
to stop the interim government disbanding it. Two days before the coup,
the government’s national reconciliation commission had recommended the RSP be dissolved and its members integrated into the national force, saying it had become "an army within an army."
Tensions between the RSP and the transitional government had been brewing for monthsWhat happens next?
The generals have pledged not to stay in power long and said they will just oversee preparations for more inclusive electionsThe speaker of the transitional parliament, Cheriff Sy, declared himself the country’s leader Thursday, and urged the rest of the military not to support the coup.
Regional leaders rushed to negotiate a way out of the crisis. Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal and Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin, representing the Economic Community of West African States arrived in Burkina Faso on Friday Sep 18,2015 to oversee mediation efforts
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