Burkina Faso: former opposition leader appointed Minister of reconciliation

The former opposition leader and 3rd in the November presidential election in Burkina Faso, Zephirin Diabré, has been appointed Minister of National Reconciliation, Secretary General of the Government Stéphane Sanou announced on national television on Sunday January 10. , while the main ministries remain unchanged.

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"

Is appointed Minister of State, Minister to the President of Faso, in charge of national reconciliation and social cohesion Mr. Zephirin Diabré

", declared Mr. Sanou, revealing the composition of the new government formed by Prime Minister Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré returned to her post last week.

Leader of the opposition since 2012, Mr. Diabré, 2nd in the 2015 presidential election, came third in the November presidential election with 12.46% of the vote, behind the candidate of the former ruling party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), Eddie Komboïgo (15.48%).

President Roch Kaboré, reelected in the first round with 57.74%, had promised to work for "

national reconciliation

".

"

I will launch, in the months to come, broad consultations in order to define the ways of a true national reconciliation

", he had announced at the end of December at the time of his inauguration, specifying to want to take into account the "

blood crimes, economic and policies which, from 1960 to the present day, continue to poison relations between the Burkinabé

”.

Prime Minister Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré was reappointed at the head of the government which has 32 members (25 ministers and seven deputy ministers), as well as twenty ministers including Cherif Sy (Defense), Ousseni Compaoré (Interior), Alpha Barry ( Foreign Affairs), Lassane Kaboré (Economy).

Until then vice-president of the People's Movement for Progress (MPP, presidential party), the former Minister of Security (January 2018-January 2019), Clément Sawadogo, returns to the ministry of territorial administration that he had already occupied (January 2006-January 2011) under the regime of Blaise Compaoré, driven from power during a popular insurrection in 2014, after 27 years of reign.

Former vice-president of the national assembly, and president of a small party that supported Kaboré's candidacy, Me Benewende Stanislas Sankara entered the government, the Ministry of Urbanism, Housing and the City.

“

Christophe Dabiré this evening formed the government team responsible for implementing my commitments to the Nation.

All my best wishes to each and every member of the new executive,

”wrote President Kaboré on a tweeter, after the announcement of the new government.

A poor and landlocked Sahelian country of 20.5 million inhabitants, Burkina Faso has been plagued since 2015 by recurrent jihadist attacks that have left at least 1,200 dead and a million internally displaced.

Whole swathes of the territory escape state control, and were unable to participate in the presidential and legislative elections of November 22 due to insecurity.

In the legislative elections, the People's Movement for Progress (MPP, presidential party) won 56 out of 127 seats in the National Assembly, which it controls along with small allied parties.