The 71 deputies appointed to Burkina Faso’s transitional legislature took office Tuesday, two months after the coup that toppled President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in a putsch.
This assembly is responsible for voting on the texts of reforms planned during the transition. The session, which opened at the parliamentary headquarters in Ouagadougou, was held in the presence of members of the transitional government appointed on March 6 by the head of state, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
The deputies, who wore their scarves, were acclaimed as their names were called, before being installed by the oldest member, Jean-Hubert Bazié, who chaired the inaugural session.
The 71 deputies were appointed by the Head of State (21), the defense and security forces (16), civil society organizations (13), representatives of the country’s regions (13, one per region) and by political parties (8).
Included is Luc Adolphe Tiao, the last prime minister of former president Blaise Compaoré, ousted by a popular uprising in 2014 after 27 years in power. Former presidential candidate in November 2020, Abdoulaye Soma, leader of the Soleil d’avenir, also sits in this assembly.
Several civil society figures such as Pascal Zaida, Valentin Yambkoudougou, and Roland Bayala, who were highly critical of the previous government, were also appointed. At midday, teacher-researcher Aboubacar Toguyeni, 58 years old and appointed deputy by the head of state, was elected to head the transitional legislative assembly.
