Burkina Faso’s Transitional Legislative Assembly has voted to dissolve the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), ending more than two decades of autonomous election management and placing future polls directly under government control. The move, approved on Tuesday, formalizes a July 2024 decree by the military-led government of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, which accused the commission of inefficiency, financial waste, and “foreign interference.” Under the new arrangement, the Ministry of Territorial Administration will oversee voter registration, ballot management, and supervision of all national and local elections a significant shift in a country that once prided itself on maintaining an independent electoral body since CENI’s creation in 2001.
Analysts and opposition figures warn that the decision consolidates the junta’s grip on power and raises doubts about the credibility of future elections. Civil society groups have also expressed concern that dismantling the CENI undermines Burkina Faso’s fragile democratic institutions. When Traoré’s military faction seized power in September 2022, it promised to restore civilian rule within 21 months. However, the junta extended the transition by five years in May 2024, citing ongoing insecurity linked to jihadist insurgencies that have displaced more than 2 million people nationwide.
The revised timeline allows Traoré himself to contest the next presidential election, further entrenching military influence in national politics. Burkina Faso’s government has also pivoted away from Western partners, expelling French troops and diplomats while deepening security and economic ties with Russia and other members of the new Alliance of Sahel States (AES) a regional bloc formed with Mali and Niger. While officials claim the restructuring will make elections “more efficient and sovereign,” critics argue it represents a retreat from democratic accountability at a time when the country faces one of Africa’s deadliest insurgencies.
