| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Assemblée nationale / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
6 May 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the members of the National Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
Parliamentary elections were held on 6 May 2007 under a new electoral system
which attributed more seats to the provincial constituencies (96
instead of 90) while the remainder was elected under the national list system.
Since 1987
the country has been led by Mr. Blaise Compaoré
who seized power from the then president
Mr. Thomas Sankara
in a coup. Mr. Sankara was assassinated in the process. Mr. Compaoré has been elected president three times
most recently in 2005. Under his presidency
he has implemented privatizations and programmes endorsed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Nevertheless
Burkina Faso still is third poorest country in the world according to United Nations statistics.
In the 2002 elections
the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) remained the largest party
taking 57 seats in the 111 member National Assembly
but losing almost 50. The remainder went to opposition parties
including the Alliance for Democracy and Federation African Democratic Rally (ADF/RDA
which took 17 seats)
and the Party for Democracy and Progress (PDP/PS
which won 10 seats). Mr. Paramanga Ernest Yonli (CDP)
who had been Prime Minister since January 2000
was re appointed prime minister.
In the 2007 elections
3
748 candidates from 50 political parties ran for office. The CDP was led by the National Assembly Speaker and former prime minister
Mr. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré
who had been elected as the party leader in August 2003. It argued that President Compaoré needed a parliamentary majority to continue economic reforms. The main opposition ADF/RDA led by Mr. Gilbert Noël Ouédraogo
supported President Compaoré's economic reform policies. Mr. Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara
who had finished second in the 2005 presidential elections
led the Union for Rebirth Sankarist Movement (UNIR MS). The party pledged to promote the policies implemented by former president Sankara. The Union for the Republic (UPR)
a small party led by Mr. Toussaint Abel Coulibaly
pledged to defend the interests of the people living in rural areas.
The elections were held in an atmosphere of relative peace. Approximately 56 per cent (down from 64 per cent in the 2002 elections) of the 4.5 million registered voters turned out at the polls. The Electoral Commission explained that the low turnout was due to the fact that fewer voters had picked up their new electoral card.
Approximately 4
000 observers from the African Union (AU)
the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)
the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and non governmental organizations (NGOs) monitored the polls. The observers from the AU declared the elections to be free and transparent.
The final results gave an increased majority to the CDP
which took 73 seats
16 more than in the 2002 elections. The main opposition party (ADF/RDA) followed with 14 seats
losing three. The Union for the Republic (UPR) won 5 seats
while the UNIR MS took four. The remainder went to nine small parties.
On 4 June
the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and re elected Mr. Kaboré (CDP) as Speaker for a second term in office.
On 4 June
President Compaoré appointed former finance minister and Ambassador to the United States
Mr. Tertius Zongo
as the new prime minister. He replaced Mr. Paramanga Ernest Yonli. The new government was sworn in on 10 June. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 6 May 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
4'466'354
2'520'488 (56.43%)
287'260
2'233'228 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
National list |
|
|
|
| Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) |
73
|
9 |
|
|
|
| Alliance for Democracy and Federation - African Democratic Rally (ADF/RDA) |
14
|
2 |
|
|
|
| Union for the Republic (UPR) |
5
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Movement (UNIR-MS) |
4
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Convention of the Democratic Forces of Burkina (CFD-B) |
3
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Union of Sankarist Parties (UPS) |
2
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Party for Democracy and Progress (PDP/PS) |
2
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Rally for the Development of Burkina (RDB) |
2
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Party for Democracy and Socialisme (PDS) |
2
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Citizen's Popular Rally (RPC) |
1
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) |
1
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Party for National Renewal (PAREN) |
1
|
0 |
|
|
|
| African Independence Party (PAI) |
1
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
98
13
11.71%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- CENI (22.05.2007)
- http://www.aib.bf/
- National Assembly (07.08.2007) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
