Burkina Faso’s President Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a military coup in September 2022, has declared that democracy should take a back seat to stabilizing the country, defeating insurgents, and rebuilding the economy.
In a rare interview broadcast on state television, the 38-year-old leader stated bluntly that democracy is not suitable for Burkina Faso. He pointed to Libya as an example of a country where outside powers attempted to impose democracy, resulting in chaos and failure.
“Democracy. Children are being killed. Bombs are being dropped. Women are being killed. People are being killed. Hospitals are being destroyed. Civilians are being killed. Is that what democracy is?” Traoré asked.
Instead of pursuing elections, the military leader emphasized the importance of sovereignty, patriotism, and revolutionary mobilization. He told young Africans that the Western notion of democracy is “false” and serves only as “a stick that people hold and use against Africans and certain peoples.”
“We must forget the notion of democracy. We must embrace the revolutionary spirit,” Traoré said.
Traoré came to power in the September 2022 coup, one of several military takeovers that have swept across West and Central Africa in recent years. His government initially promised to organize elections in 2024 to restore civilian rule, but later extended the transition period by five years.
The president made clear that elections will not be held until the country is safe enough for everyone to vote. Burkina Faso has been battling Islamist insurgents for years, with large parts of the territory still affected by violence.
In July last year, the government dissolved the Independent National Electoral Commission, claiming the agency was too expensive to maintain. Then, in January, authorities announced a complete ban on all political parties as part of a broader plan to “rebuild the state.”
The United Nations has urged Burkina Faso to reverse the ban on political parties and to stop what it describes as the repression of civic space.
Traoré’s remarks represent a sharp departure from the original timetable for a return to constitutional order and reflect the military government’s priority on security and sovereignty over rapid democratization.
