2020 Burkinabè general election

General elections were held in Burkina Faso on 22 November 2020 to elect the President and National Assembly.^[1] In the presidential elections, incumbent president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of the People's Movement for Progress was re-elected in the first round with 57.7% of the vote, avoiding the need for second round. The main campaign focus of the major presidential candidates was the growing insecurity in the country with the rise in terrorism and ethnic violence.^[2]

2020 Burkinabè general election

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Presidential election

Nominee Roch Marc Christian Kaboré Eddie Komboïgo Zéphirin Diabré Party MPP CDP UPC Popular vote 1,645,229 442,693 354,988 Percentage 57.74% 15.54% 12.46%

Presidential Election Results by Province. Orange denotes districts won by Kaboré, Red denotes districts won by Komboïgo and Green denotes districts won by Diabré.

President before election Roch Marc Christian Kaboré MPP Elected President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré MPP

Electoral system

The President is elected using the two-round system;^[3] if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round will be held.

The 127 members of the National Assembly are elected by proportional representation; 111 are elected from 45 multi-member constituencies with between two and nine seats, with 16 elected from a single nationwide constituency.^[4]

Campaign

In February 2019 former Prime Minister Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo announced that he would contest the presidential elections.^[5]

Conduct

Due to instability, the election commission was unable to conduct voter registration in more than 17% of the country.^[6] Fifty-two out of 127 members of parliament suggested that they would not be able to campaign in their constituency due to security concerns. With increased pressure from the government not to postpone the elections, the National Assembly passed a bill on 24 August to introduce a force majeure clause.^[7] The clause allowed the elections to continue as normal and in areas where insecurity limited the vote from being held, the results from polling stations that were able to open dictated the result for the entire constituency. At the start of the campaign period, municipalities in six of the thirteen regions had cases of force majeure.^[7][8]

The COVID-19 pandemic also prevented voter registrations between 30 March and 25 May.^[9]

On election day, voting did not take place in 926 of the 19,836 polling stations, disenfranchising 596,756 registered voters.^[10]

Results

President

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Roch Marc Christian Kaboré	People's Movement for Progress	1,645,229	57.74
	Eddie Komboïgo	Congress for Democracy and Progress	442,693	15.54
	Zéphirin Diabré	Union for Progress and Reform	354,988	12.46
	Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo	Act Together	95,661	3.36
	Tahirou Barry	National Rebirth Party	62,231	2.18
	Ablassé Ouedraogo	Alternative Faso	51,461	1.81
	Gilbert Noël Ouédraogo	ADF–RDA	45,263	1.59
	Yacouba Isaac Zida	Patriotic Movement for Salvation	43,537	1.53
	Abdoulaye Soma	Sun of the Future Movement	40,724	1.43
	Segui Ambroise Farama	Organisation of African Peoples – Burkina Faso	25,916	0.91
	Kiemdoro do Pascalo Sessouma	Vision Burkina	20,068	0.70
	Yéli Monique Kam	Movement for the Renaissance of Burkina	15,322	0.54
	Claude Aimé Tassembedo	Independent	6,442	0.23
Total			2,849,535	100.00
Valid votes			2,849,535	95.86
Invalid/blank votes			123,055	4.14
Total votes			2,972,590	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			5,918,844	50.22
Source: Constitutional Court

National Assembly

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Con.	Nat.	Total	+/–
	People's Movement for Progress	968,980	34.59	50	6	56	+1
	Congress for Democracy and Progress	371,633	13.27	18	2	20	+2
	Union for Progress and Reform	285,202	10.18	10	2	12	–21
	New Era for Democracy	155,995	5.57	12	1	13	+10
	Alliance for Democracy and Federation – African Democratic Rally	69,179	2.47	2	1	3	0
	Union for Rebirth / Sankarist Party	68,727	2.45	4	1	5	0
	Patriotic Rally for Integrity	67,304	2.40	2	1	3	New
	Party for Development and Change	56,407	2.01	2	1	3	+3
	Movement for the Future Burkina Faso	55,136	1.97	3	1	4	New
	New Alliance of Faso	48,499	1.73	0	0	0	–2
	National Convention for Progress	37,042	1.32	2	0	2	New
	Act Together	36,163	1.29	2	0	2	New
	Pan-African Alliance for Refoundation	29,577	1.06	1	0	1	New
	Progressives United for Renewal	28,894	1.03	1	0	1	New
	Union for the Republic and Democracy	28,864	1.03	0	0	0	New
	Party for Democracy and Socialism/Metba	27,757	0.99	1	0	1	0
	SENS Movement	26,849	0.96	0	0	0	New
	Patriotic Movement for Salvation	26,369	0.94	0	0	0	New
	Organisation for Democracy and Labour	24,869	0.89	0	0	0	–1
	Movement for Change and Renaissance	22,809	0.81	0	0	0	New
	Alliance of Forces for Alternance	21,443	0.77	0	0	0	New
	Convergence for Progress and Solidarity-Generation 3	20,639	0.74	1	0	1	New
	Renewal	13,393	0.48	0	0	0	New
	African Front for Change	11,905	0.42	0	0	0	New
	Rally of Patriots for Renewal	11,833	0.42	0	0	0	0
	Sun of the Future Movement	11,224	0.40	0	0	0	New
	Democratic Party for Integration and Solidarity	10,714	0.38	0	0	0	New
	Independent Associates	10,173	0.36	0	0	0	New
	National Rebirth Party	9,395	0.34	0	0	0	–2
	Labour Alliance for Development	9,308	0.33	0	0	0	New
	Alliance of Democrats of Burkina	8,282	0.30	0	0	0	New
	Burkina Yirwa	7,833	0.28	0	0	0	0
	Movement of Young Patriots for Progress	7,141	0.25	0	0	0	New
	Congress for Rebirth and Progress	6,873	0.25	0	0	0	New
	Union for the Republic	6,385	0.23	0	0	0	0
	Alternative Faso	6,370	0.23	0	0	0	–1
	Coalition Rupture	6,307	0.23	0	0	0	New
	Sidwaya	6,022	0.21	0	0	0	New
	L'Autre Burkina/PSR	5,996	0.21	0	0	0	New
	Patriotic Pan-African Alternative	5,906	0.21	0	0	0	New
	Movement of the People for Democracy	5,686	0.20	0	0	0	0
	Burkinabé Democratic Union for Renaissance	5,570	0.20	0	0	0	New
	Organisation of African Peoples-Burkina Faso	5,426	0.19	0	0	0	New
	Movement for Democracy in Africa	5,408	0.19	0	0	0	–1
	Rally of Burkinans for Progress	5,357	0.19	0	0	0	New
	Independent Party of Burkina	5,074	0.18	0	0	0	New
	Faso Kanu	4,959	0.18	0	0	0	New
	Fasokooz	4,856	0.17	0	0	0	New
	Our Common Cause	4,843	0.17	0	0	0	New
	Rally of People for Labour	4,617	0.16	0	0	0	New
	Party for Democratic Renewal	4,184	0.15	0	0	0	New
	Congress of African Nations/Burkina Faso	4,098	0.15	0	0	0	New
	Rally for Burkina	3,973	0.14	0	0	0	New
	Union of Centrist Forces	3,894	0.14	0	0	0	New
	Movement for Progress and Reform	3,877	0.14	0	0	0	0
	Patriotic Convergence for Renewal/Progressive Movement	3,645	0.13	0	0	0	0
	Standing Citizens Movement	3,496	0.12	0	0	0	New
	Rally of White Hands	3,422	0.12	0	0	0	New
	Party of Republican People	3,315	0.12	0	0	0	New
	Party of Justice and Development	2,959	0.11	0	0	0	New
	National Union of Independents for Reform	2,911	0.10	0	0	0	0
	Movement for the Renaissance of Burkina	2,748	0.10	0	0	0	New
	Convergence of Patriots and Progressives	2,714	0.10	0	0	0	New
	Party of Pan-African Patriots	2,694	0.10	0	0	0	0
	Party for National Unity and Development	2,620	0.09	0	0	0	0
	Party for National Cohesion	2,594	0.09	0	0	0	0
	Party for Democracy and Youth	2,329	0.08	0	0	0	0
	Alliance for Rebirth, Democracy and Integration	2,275	0.08	0	0	0	0
	Workers of Peace and Development	2,271	0.08	0	0	0	New
	Fasocrat Party	2,208	0.08	0	0	0	0
	Movement of Intellectuals for Development	2,111	0.08	0	0	0	New
	Alliance of Democrats for Development	2,092	0.07	0	0	0	New
	Alliance of Generations for Renaissance	2,075	0.07	0	0	0	New
	Movement for Democratic Renewal	1,985	0.07	0	0	0	New
	Patriotic Front for Change	1,867	0.07	0	0	0	New
	Union for Social Development	1,829	0.07	0	0	0	New
	Vision Burkina	1,805	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Coalition of Democratic Forces for Real Change	1,786	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Burkina Socialist Party	1,606	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Republican Party for Total Independence	1,584	0.06	0	0	0	0
	Hope of Faso	1,577	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Sun Alliance for Progress	1,570	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Party for the Protection of the Environment/Nature Conservation	1,481	0.05	0	0	0	0
	Ecologist Party for New Development	1,408	0.05	0	0	0	0
	Movement for Patriotic Rally	1,282	0.05	0	0	0	New
	Burkina Laafia Party	1,241	0.04	0	0	0	0
	Together for Faso	1,178	0.04	0	0	0	New
	Party for Labour and Democracy	1,163	0.04	0	0	0	New
	National Union for Democracy and Progress	1,123	0.04	0	0	0	0
	Democratic Organisation for the Defence of Nature	1,102	0.04	0	0	0	New
	Party of Democrats of Faso	1,092	0.04	0	0	0	New
	New Vision	1,079	0.04	0	0	0	–
	Coalition for the Republic–Progressive Party	1,073	0.04	0	0	0	0
	Patriotic Movement for Alternance	1,055	0.04	0	0	0	New
	Movement for Reconciliation and the Renewal of Faso	1,031	0.04	0	0	0	New
	Burkina United for Triumph	977	0.03	0	0	0	New
	National Union of Independents	969	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Patriotic Party of Young Republicans	941	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Party for the Rebirth of Democracy in Faso	939	0.03	0	0	0	0
	Party of Rally for Democratic Integrity and Solidarity	936	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Mouvement le Ril vaa-ir	852	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Conscious Youth of Burkina	830	0.03	0	0	0	0
	Greatcall	818	0.03	0	0	0	New
	Alliance for the Republic and Democracy	750	0.03	0	0	0	0
	Integrated Youth Committed to Change	732	0.03	0	0	0	New
	African Movement of the Peoples	729	0.03	0	0	0	0
	Common Front for Development	692	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Pan-African Movement of United Forces for Work, Union and Renaissance	664	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Fasokamba	633	0.02	0	0	0	New
	New Democratic Initiative–Peoples Action Party	606	0.02	0	0	0	0
	Centrist Party for Democracy and Progress	546	0.02	0	0	0	0
	Alliance for Peace and Integrity	542	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Burkina United for Development	507	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Movement for the Defence of Democracy	499	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Party of African Grouping	454	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Pan-African Movement of Faso	381	0.01	0	0	0	0
	La Nature	286	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Party of People for Progress in Faso	250	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Party of Progress for National Renewal	237	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Party for Development and Democracy	192	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Burkina on the Road to Development	187	0.01	0	0	0	New
	Movement of Young Republicans	168	0.01	0	0	0	–
	National Party for Development and Peace	124	0.00	0	0	0	0
	Union for Democracy and Development	119	0.00	0	0	0	New
	Les Tondikara de la Paix	64	0.00	0	0	0	New
	March for the Fatherland	33	0.00	0	0	0	New
Total		2,801,272	100.00	111	16	127	0
Valid votes		2,801,272	95.68
Invalid/blank votes		126,487	4.32
Total votes		2,927,759	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		5,895,773	49.66
Source: Constitutional Court

Aftermath

Although the opposition accused the government of committing electoral fraud before and after the election, on 27 November opposition leader Zephirin Diabre conceded defeat and met with Kabore to congratulate him on his re-election.^[11] The opposition failed to produce substantial evidence of electoral fraud and the election commission quickly dismissed the claims of irregularities.^[11] Observers considered the election fair.^[12] In the country's east, there was a minor incident as 30 people voted using fake ballot papers as there were not any "original" ballot papers available. However, Halidou Ouedraogo, President of local election monitoring organization CODEL said that it was not a widespread phenomenon and gave the election a mostly clean bill.^[2]

References

1. 2020 African election calendar EISA
2. "Burkina Faso's Kaboré wins re-election, according to full preliminary results". France 24. 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
3. Burkina Faso: Election for President IFES
4. Burkina Faso: Election for Assemblée Nationale (Burkinabe National Assembly) IFES
5. Burkina Faso: Former Prime Minister to contest 2020 poll Africa News, 18 February 2019
6. Wilkins, Henry (November 16, 2020). "Insecurity dominates Burkina Faso campaigns before tight polls". Al Jazeeralanguage=en. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
7. Maïga, Ibrahim; Bako, Habibou Souley (November 10, 2020). "Lessons from Mali as Burkina and Niger head for the polls - Niger". ReliefWeb. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
8. Ragozzino, Adam (2020-11-21). "Burkina Faso's Elections to Proceed Without the People". Global Risk Insights. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
9. "Burkina Faso: Preliminary election results hand victory to Kabore". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
10. Resultats provisoires 2020-12-04 at the Wayback Machine CENI
11. "Burkina Faso opposition leader concedes defeat in election". Reuters. November 28, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
12. "Burkina Faso: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 2022-01-25.