The government of Burkina Faso announced on Thursday the dissolution of all political parties and political groupings, stating that the move is necessary to maintain national unity and reform the country’s political governance system. The decision was made through a decree approved during the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by President Ibrahim Traoré, which also stipulated the transfer of the assets of the dissolved parties to the state.
A draft law was also prepared to repeal the regulations governing the financing and activities of parties, in preparation for its referral to the Transitional Legislative Assembly for ratification. Minister of Territorial Administration, Émile Zerbo, stated that the decision followed an “in-depth diagnosis of the party system,” which revealed numerous deviations in the application of the legal framework governing political parties and groupings.
Zerbo added that the draft laws associated with the decision will be referred to the Transitional Legislative Assembly, appointed by the military government, as soon as possible. The government explained that the large number of political parties contributed to deepening divisions among citizens and weakened the social fabric, noting that the dissolution of parties aims to “preserve national unity, enhance the harmony of government action, and prepare the ground for reforming the political governance model.”
Burkina Faso has been under military rule since a coup led by Ibrahim Traoré in September 2022, the second that year, amid a severe security crisis caused by attacks by armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS. The transitional government has repeatedly postponed elections it promised to hold in July 2024, citing the deteriorating security situation, while political party activities had been effectively suspended since the coup before being officially banned by this decision.
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