Burkina Faso’s military-led government on Thursday ordered the dissolution of all political parties and groupings, marking a dramatic escalation in the military government’s consolidation of power nearly three years after seizing control.
The decree, adopted during a weekly Cabinet meeting chaired by military leader President Ibrahim Traore, also mandates that the assets of the dissolved parties be transferred to the state.
Authorities said draft legislation has been prepared to repeal existing laws governing party financing and operations.
Minister of Territorial Administration Emile Zerbo said the move followed what he described as a “deep diagnosis” of the country’s partisan system.
“This great and important decision is part of the refoundation of the state,” Zerbo said, arguing that political parties have strayed from their legal mandates and contributed to national fragmentation.
‘Preserving national unity’
The government said the proliferation of parties has fueled division, weakened social cohesion and undermined effective governance.
Dissolving them, it said, is intended to “preserve national unity, strengthen the coherence of government action, and pave the way for a reform of the political governance model.”
Burkina Faso has been under military rule since Traore led a coup in September 2022, the second putsch that year. The government has repeatedly cited the country’s deteriorating security situation — driven by militants linked to al-Qaeda and Daesh — to justify exceptional measures.
Elections, initially promised for July 2024, have been postponed indefinitely, and political party activities were largely suspended after the coup, though they had not been formally outlawed until now.
