INTUSK MAGAZINE

According to the wording of a newly agreed charter, participants in national negotiations on Saturday suggested delaying the return to democracy by 60 months starting in July. This means that Burkina Faso's ruling junta would stay in power for an additional five years.

After seizing control in a coup in 2022, the military rulers declared that security concerns would come first and that elections would be held in July of this year to reinstate civilian government.

The transition period is set at 60 months starting on July 2 in accordance with the new charter, which was signed by military chief Ibrahim Traore.

The charter also permits Traore to run for president when the elections are held. The violence in West Africa's Sahel region has worsened since respective militaries seized power in Burkina Faso and neighbouring Mali and Niger. 

Burkina Faso experienced a severe escalation of deadly attacks in 2023, with more than 8,000 people reportedly killed, according to U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED. The substantial delay is likely to deepen concerns about democratic backsliding in West and Central Africa, where there have been eight coups in the last four years.