Burkina Faso president re-elected
By Nangayi Guyson – Ouagadougou -Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré, who has held power since a 1987 coup, was re-elected with an 81 percent share of the vote in presidential elections, state media said on Wednesday.
Compaore, 59, was elected in Sunday’s first round ballot with 1.3 million votes, according to the Sidwaya newspaper, which said the findings were based on local poll counts.
If confirmed, the president’s share would increase from the 80% he won in the last election in 2005.
His nearest rivals were far behind in the count with Hama Arba Diallo, a northern challenger, winning just under 8% and opposition leader Benewende Stanislas Sankara achieving 5.52%, according to the report.
However, Four of the seven opposition candidates on Tuesday accused the electoral commission of rigging the election in favour of incumbent President Blaise Compaore and said, they won’t recognize the poll’s results , They cited serious irregularities that allowed ineligible people to vote. They asked that results be invalidated.
They also called for the resignation of election board chief Moussa Michel Tapsoba, who in turn accused them of being “bad losers” but did not otherwise comment on their accusations.
The landlocked West African nation voted Sunday.
