burkina faso
about
burkina faso
official
name: Burkina Faso
capital: Ouagadougou
head of state:
President Blaise Compaore
state: multi-party democracy
population:
13.6 million
independence: from France in 1960
languages:
French (official) and other Sudanic languages
religion: traditional
African 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mostly Catholic) 10%
currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF)
media: NA
legal
wise
status
of homosexuality: legal above age of consent
age of consent: 21
homosexual 13 heterosexual
laws covering homosexual activity: No sodomy
laws, underage sexual activity is punishable with up to 3 years in prison
background information and government attitudes:
9.95: At UN 4th Conference
on Women in Burkina Faso opposed the (unsuccessful) proposal for inclusion of
references to "sexual orientation" in the draft "Platform for Action"
(DS).
After four years of revolutionary regime ended in a bloody coup led
by Captain Blaise Compaoré on October 15, 1987, Burkina Faso entered a
process of liberalization. At the end of the 1980s, internal and external pressures
resulted in further democratic reforms. The adoption of a new constitution in
June 1991 was a major step in this process.
Many
opposition parties, however, raised criticisms about the new constitution, which
they claimed invested too much power in the executive and unfairly gave the incumbent
president the right to manage the transition to the constitutional regime. Therefore,
they urged President Compaoré to convene a national conference - a constituent
assembly with sovereign power to amend the new constitution - and form a government
of national unity to manage the democratic transition.
Confronted
with President Compaoré's steadfast refusal to satisfy their demands, all
major opposition parties boycotted the December 1991 presidential elections, resulting
in an easy victory for the president, although voter turnout was less than 25
percent. His party also won the May 1992 and May 1997 legislative elections, in
which the opposition participated but accused
the ruling party of fraud.
The
opposition largely chose to boycott the November 1998 presidential elections,
although political leaders from two small parties challenged President Compaoré,
who was nevertheless re-elected with 88 percent of the total votes.
The
murder of the well-known journalist Norbert Zongo on December 13, 1998, launched
the country into a deep socio-political crisis. A movement led by civil society
groups and opposition parties protested the failure to bring Zongo's assassins
to justice. The crisis, which shook the regime to its foundations, paved the way
for a reinforcement of the democratic process.
Political
and electoral reforms adopted in 2000 and 2001 introduced significant changes
following intensive consultations among political parties. This made possible
the reestablishment of a minimum of confidence between political parties and the
introduction of more transparent and effective electoral rules. The result of
this was a significant gain in the May 2002 legislative elections for opposition
parties, which combined won 54 out of 111 seats.
Despite
progress, democratization in Burkina Faso is far from complete. In spite of the
electoral reforms implemented since 2001, the people's will is not fully expressed
due in part to electoral corruption and the absence of equal campaigning opportunities
for all candidates. The excessive power of the executive and the ruling party
disrupts the balance of power among the branches of government.
In
contrast, freedom of expression and civil society groups are relatively well protected,
with thousands of associations and a pluralist and sometimes critical press is
in operation. Civil liberties are generally guaranteed, although torture continues
and often goes unpunished. The principles of equality and non-discrimination are
legally ensured, but in practice some groups, such as women, have suffered from
inequalities.
The
rule of law is also constitutionally guaranteed but undermined by the judiciary's
lack of independence and credibility and the weak democratic control over the
police and military forces. An arsenal of laws intended to ensure transparency
and to fight corruption lacks effectiveness, and in practice, corruption continues
to increase because the political will to tackle it remains weak.
From
Freedom House's Countries at the Crossroads: 2005 A Survey of Democratic Governance
www.freedomhouse.org/research/crossroads/2005/burkina_faso2005.pdf
communication
mainline
telephones: 36, 000 (1997)
cellular telephones: 1, 503 (1997)
internet country code: .bf
internet service providers: 1 (2000)
internet users: 4, 000 (2000)
links
and contacts
NA