In Burkina Faso, the junta restores the Constitution, but modifies the institutions. The putschists who took power on Monday, January 24, had then suspended the supreme text. They have just broadcast this Monday, January 31, on national television, a “Fundamental Act”. This text restores the constitutional order, while officially giving power to the military.
A week after being suspended, the 1991 Constitution is reinstated. It was a requirement of the West African Community at its summit on Friday… And this announcement falls precisely on the day when a ministerial delegation from ECOWAS is in Ouagadougou.
On the other hand, the Constitution is subordinated to this “fundamental act” presented in the official media. Seven pages and thirty-seven articles in which the military endorses, black on white, their control of power.
The MPSR, the entity created by the putschists after their coup, became ” the central body for defining and guiding security, economic, social, development and restoration of territorial integrity policy “. It is the MPSR that ensures the continuity of the state and the management of affairs.
It is made up of a president, two vice-presidents, a coordinator and committees. The leader of the MPSR, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, thus officially becomes Head of State and of the Armed Forces. It is he who sets the main political guidelines. It also has regulatory and ordinances power.
As for the transfer of power, the text simply says that there will be a Charter of the Transition. It’s the first time the word has been officially spoken, but it’s unclear how it will play out, or how long it will last.
In addition, the junta announced, at the same time, that the former chief of staff, Gilbert Ouédraogo, and that of intelligence, François Ouédraogo, were dismissed from their functions.
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