Burkina Faso’s transitional military government has officially disbanded the country’s independent electoral commission, marking another significant shift in the political direction of the West African nation.
The announcement was made following a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, July 17, 2025, during which the government approved legislation abolishing the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI)—the body responsible for organizing national elections. Minister of Territorial Administration Emile Zerbo explained the rationale behind the move, emphasizing both financial and sovereignty concerns.
Abolishing the electoral commission will reinforce the country’s “sovereign control on the electoral process” and “limit foreign influences,” Zerbo stated.
He further noted that the commission had become financially burdensome, prompting the government to restructure electoral oversight. Moving forward, the Ministry of the Interior will assume full responsibility for managing electoral processes, according to a broadcast by the state-run television station, RTB.
The decision to dissolve CENI comes in the context of ongoing reforms introduced since the military seized power in September 2022. At that time, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré led a coup that ousted Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had himself taken power in a military takeover just eight months earlier, removing the democratically elected President Roch Marc Kaboré.
Burkina Faso is one of several West African countries that have experienced successive military coups in recent years, driven by widespread frustration with civilian governments, particularly over their failure to address growing insecurity and violent extremism.
When the current junta assumed power, it initially pledged to transition back to civilian rule by July 2024. However, those plans were revised when, in 2023, the transitional authorities adopted a new constitutional charter. This new framework permits Captain Traoré to remain in power until July 2029.
The country has since been governed under a transitional constitution approved by a specially convened national assembly composed of military officials, civil society representatives, and leaders from traditional and religious communities.
This latest move to dismantle the electoral commission further consolidates the junta’s control over the political process and raises fresh concerns among observers about the country’s democratic trajectory.
