3.4.2026
Burkina Faso junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré has told his citizens to forget about having a democratically elected President.
Capt. Traore seized power in 2023 and has pursued an autocratic agenda silencing opposition to his rule and sending critics to fight against Islamist jihadists threatening to take over the country for over a decade.
Speaking on State Television Thursday night Capt. Traore said Burkina Faso will establish its own system of governance without giving details.
In Thursday night’s interview, Traoré said: “People need to forget about the issue of democracy. Democracy is not for us.
“Wherever they [Western powers] try to establish democracy in the world, it’s always accompanied by bloodshed.
“Look at Libya, this is an example close to us.”
Traoré also addressed the dissolution of political parties, saying he considered them to be divisive, dangerous and incompatible with the revolutionary protect.
“The truth is, politics in Africa – or at least what we’ve experienced in Burkina – is that a real politician is someone who embodies every vice: a liar, a sycophant, a smooth-talker,” noted the 38-year-old, who aligned himself with Russian dictator Vladmir Putin.
“We have our own approach. We’re not even trying to copy anyone else. We’re here to completely change the way things are done.”
On Thursday, a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) said more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in Burkina Faso since Traoré seized power in 2023.
The publication attributes two-thirds of the killings to the military and allied militias, with the rest blamed on Islamist militants.