Editing Politics of Burkina Faso (section)

==Post-colonial political history==
[[File:Maurice Yaméogo, 1960.jpg|thumb|President [[Maurice Yaméogo]] was the first president of Burkina Faso, then Upper Volta, following independence from France. He was ousted in a coup by Colonel [[Sangoulé Lamizana]] in 1966. ]]
Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta) became formally independent from [[French colonial empire|French rule]] in 1960. [[Maurice Yaméogo]], who was elected president in December 1959, presided over Burkina Faso's newly independent government. The country was under a unitary constitution, with power centralized in the national government. Despite Yaméogo being an anti-colonial leader, he did not make significant strides towards alleviating the political, social, and economic legacies of [[colonialism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harsch |first=Ernest |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDlOEAAAQBAJ&dq=burkina%20faso%20political%20history&pg=PP1 |title=Burkina Faso: A History of Power, Protest, and Revolution |date=2017-10-15 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78699-137-9 |language=en}}</ref> Minimal modifications were made to the state structures that remained from the colonial state. Yaméogo attempted to make Burkina Faso a [[one-party state]] under the [[African Democratic Rally (Burkina Faso)|Voltatic Democratic Union-African Democratic Rally]] (UDV-RDA), which is what caused his eventual fall from power.<ref>Engberg-Pedersen, L. (2003). ''Endangering development : politics, projects, and environment in Burkina Faso''. Praeger.</ref> After years of [[austerity]] and nepotistic political appointments, civilians wanted Yaméogo to be replaced.

While strength in opposition to Yaméogo grew, so did the [[Burkina Faso Armed Forces|Burkinabé military]]: the end to French occupation brought increasing national autonomy, which included military autonomy. The military positioned itself as a neutral force in the midst of political unrest. The army grew as an autonomous unit after Yaméogo rejected French support for it, in turn causing the army to develop as a nationally oriented institution.<ref>Guissou, Basile. "Militaires et militarisme en Afrique: cas du Burkina Faso." ''Afrique Contemporaine'', no. 228, 2008, pp. 79–92. JSTOR, <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/43658378</nowiki>. Accessed 3 May 2025.</ref> Many members of the army were veterans of colonial wars who experienced repression under French rule. By 1966, when protests erupted over austerity and repression, the army, and especially Lieutenant-Colonel [[Sangoulé Lamizana]], refused to suppress demonstrations and supported civilian opposition to Yaméogo. Lamizana arrested Yaméogo in a [[coup d'état]], declaring himself the head of state in 1966 with widespread support from Burkinabé.<ref>Williamson, Bryan J. "From Upper Volta to Burkina Faso: A Study of the Politics of Reaction and Reform in a Post-Colonial African Nation-state, 1960-1987." (2013).</ref>

Sangoulé Lamizana was the first of many coup leaders in Burkina Faso to successfully gain power. Because Yaméogo was despised throughout Burkina Faso, Lamizana made the military popular.<ref name=":04">Gutierrez, Vincent. "Understanding Geopolitics from a Historical Perspective: The Burkina Faso Revolution, 1983-1987." ''The Toro Historical Review'' 5.1 (2018).</ref> He played an integral role in establishing military culture in Burkina Faso by promoting it as a stabilizing and unifying force. Lamizana suspended the constitution and dissolved the [[National Assembly of Burkina Faso|National Assembly]], eventually replacing the constitution and attempting to shift to civilian rule in 1970. A civilian government was elected, but after a power struggle ensued between Speaker of the Parliament Joseph Ouédraogo and Prime Minister Gérard Kango Ouédraogo, Lamizana re-established military rule.<ref name=":04" /> Throughout Lamizana's rule, he would temporarily allow limited political activity but eventually suppress this activity when he deemed it to be getting out of hand.<ref name=":14">Ciment, James (ed.). ''Encyclopedia of Conflicts Since World War II''. 2nd ed., Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2006.

</ref> His most prominent opponents were French-educated left-wing intellectuals and [[trade union]] organizers, but his eventual demise came as a result of another military coup.  

As a response to the Lamizana government's continued failure to deal with strikes and food shortages, [[Saye Zerbo]], who was a trained military leader, mounted a coup in 1980 that overthrew Lamizana.<ref name=":2">Brockman, N.C. (2006). "Zerbo, Sayé." ''An African Biographical Dictionary'' (2nd ed.). Grey House Publishing.</ref> Zerbo eradicated the constitution enacted by Lamizana and instead ruled through a thirty-one-member Military Committee for Recovering National Progress (CMRPN). The military committee included future presidents [[Thomas Sankara]] and [[Blaise Compaoré]], showing how the political leadership of Burkina Faso has historically been influenced by military connections. Similar to previous Burkinabé heads of state, Zerbo's administration was corrupt and did not provide social improvements for the people of Burkina Faso. Zerbo was accused of embezzling £28 million (well over US$100 million in current inflation-adjusted value) from government funds.<ref name=":2" />

A coup orchestrated by the Conseil de Salut du People (CSP), led by Colonel [[Gabriel Somé Yorian|Gabriel Yoryan Somé]], overthrew the Saye Zerbo regime and appointed Surgeon Major [[Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo|Jean Baptiste Ouédraogo]] the head of state. Ouédraogo later appointed Thomas Sankara prime minister in January 1983. Mere months later, in May 1983, President Ouédraogo removed pro-Libyan and anti-French elements from the Burkinabé government and disbanded the CSP.<ref name=":2" /> This greatly upset radicals in Burkina Faso, leading to his regime to be overthrown in August by the National Council for the Revolution (CNR). He was replaced by his former prime minister, Thomas Sankara.

Thomas Sankara's revolutionary ideas were widely popular in the years leading up to his rule, especially among students and the military. It was under Sankara that the country's name changed from "Upper Volta" to "Burkina Faso," meaning "land of the proud and honest people."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Introduction: Burkina Faso, Senufo-Tagba of West Africa, Online Exhibits, Exhibits, Spurlock Museum, U of I |url=https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/exhibits/online/senufo/introduction1.html#:~:text=Burkina%20Faso%20is%20a%20land,,%22%20was%20adopted%20in%201984. |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=www.spurlock.illinois.edu}}</ref> Largely beginning in 1975, Sankara and other officers, including future president and then close ally of Sankara's Blaise Compaoré, stayed in close contact with leftist civilians. Sankara, Compaoré, and other important revolutionary figures in Burkinabé politics secretly attended meetings of leftist coalitions, notably including the [[African Independence Party (Burkina Faso)|African Independence Party]] (PAI), [[Union of Communist Struggles]] (ULC), and [[Voltaic Revolutionary Communist Party]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Brittain |first=Victoria |date=1985 |title=Introduction to Sankara & Burkina Faso |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4005705 |journal=Review of African Political Economy |issue=32 |pages=39–47 |jstor=4005705 |issn=0305-6244}}</ref> They appealed to the public, attending these meetings in civilian clothes. A network of revolutionary organizing laid the foundation for the 1983 coup of Ouédraogo. Sankara emphasized breaking from neo-colonial dependencies, especially from France, and rooting out corruption that had plagued the Burkinabé government since its independence.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Harsch |first=Ernest |date=2013 |title=The legacies of Thomas Sankara: a revolutionary experience in retrospect |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42003347 |journal=Review of African Political Economy |volume=40 |issue=137 |pages=358–374 |doi=10.1080/03056244.2013.816947 |jstor=42003347 |issn=0305-6244|hdl=10.1080/03056244.2013.816947 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> He and the CNR created and orchestrated Revolutionary Popular Tribunals (TPRs), which were broadcast and convicted over 100 members of previous regimes of corruption.<ref name=":3" /> In addition, the Sankara government implemented environmental restoration initiatives and catalyzed popular support from Burkina Faso's 95% rural population by investing in widespread small development initiatives.<ref name=":3" />

Even though there was much initial enthusiasm surrounding Thomas Sankara's presidency, positive sentiments eventually faded after his government participated in political repression. This repression largely came from members of the CNR and not Sankara himself. While many of the CNR's initiatives found support from the Burkinabé people, some resentment and outright resistance was expressed. CNR officials responded to this with coercion and excessive repression.<ref>Banégas, Richard (1993). ''Insoumissions popularies et révolution au Burkina Faso''. Bourdeaux: Centre d'étude d'Afrique noire.</ref> Political repression under his government was also exhibited through the way his [[Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (Burkina Faso)|Committees for the Defense of the Revolution]] (CDRs) operated. While they initially played a large role in mobilizing revolutionary sentiment before and after Sankara was elected, the actions of many CDRs were corrupt and spread violence. Many repeated abuses were carried out by CDR militants, who were often armed. While unmasking corrupt state functionaries, they participated in corruption themselves by embezzling funds and breaking into homes to collect what they called "taxes" and "contributions."<ref name=":4" /> However, Sankara did press CDRs to operate in a just and respectable manner and tried leveling out corruption within his own government. This created friction within governmental leadership, especially with Blaise Compaoré. Sankara refused to combine existing Marxist groups into a single ruling party out of fear of creating an elitist government, which was viewed as weak by Compaoré and allies.<ref name=":4" /> This set the stage for the 1987 coup in which Sankara was assassinated and former ally Compaoré was appointed president.

In 1990, the [[Popular Front (Burkina Faso)|Popular Front]] held its first National Congress, which formed a committee to draft a national constitution. The constitution was approved by referendum in 1991. In 1992, Blaise Compaoré was elected president, running unopposed after the opposition boycotted the election because of Compaoré's refusal to accede to demands of the opposition such as a Sovereign National Conference to set modalities. The opposition did participate in the following year's legislative elections, in which the [[ODP/MT]] won a majority of the seats contested for. The government of the Fourth Republic includes a strong presidency, a prime minister, a Council of Ministers presided over by the president, a National Assembly, and the judiciary. The legislature and judiciary are independent but remain susceptible to outside influence.

In 1995, Burkina held its first multiparty municipal elections since it gained independence. The president's ODP/MT won over 1,100 of some 1,700 councilor seats being contested. In February 1996, the ruling ODP/MT merged with several small opposition parties to form the [[Congress for Democracy and Progress]] (CDP). This effectively co-opted much of what little viable opposition to Compaoré existed. The remaining opposition parties regrouped in preparation for 1997 legislative elections and the 1998 presidential election. The 1997 legislative elections, which international observers pronounced to be substantially free, fair, and transparent, resulted in a large CDP majority—101 to 111 seats.

In January 2022 a [[January 2022 Burkina Faso coup d'état|coup d'état]] took place, and the military announced on television that Kaboré had been deposed from his position as president.<ref name=":02">{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/24/burkina-faso-army-says-it-has-deposed-president-kabore|title=Burkina Faso army says it has deposed President Kabore|work=Al Jazeera|date=24 January 2022|access-date=2022-01-24|language=en}}</ref> After the announcement, the military declared that the parliament, government, and constitution had been dissolved.<ref name=":12">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60118993|title=Burkina Faso military says it has seized power|work=BBC News|date=2022-01-24|access-date=2022-01-24|language=en-GB}}</ref> On 31 January, the military junta restored the constitution and appointed [[Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba]] as interim president.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/31/burkina-faso-restores-constitution-names-coup-leader-president|title=Burkina Faso restores constitution, names coup leader president|work=Al Jazzerra|date=31 January 2022|access-date=5 February 2022|language=en}}</ref> A few months later, On 30 September 2022, Damiba was himself ousted by [[Ibrahim Traoré]], his military colleague. President Damiba resigned and left the country.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ndiaga |first1=Thiam |last2=Mimault |first2=Anne |title=Burkina Faso president resigns on condition coup leader guarantees his safety |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/burkina-fasos-self-declared-military-leader-says-situation-is-under-control-2022-10-02/ |work=Reuters |date=3 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> On 6 October 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traore was officially appointed as president of Burkina Faso.<ref>{{cite news |title=Traore officially appointed as president of Burkina Faso after coup |url=https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20221006-traore-officially-appointed-as-president-of-burkina-faso-after-coup |work=France 24 |date=6 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>