Burkina Faso names Zida prime minister

Burkina Faso named Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida as prime minister, according to a decree read out on Wednesday by Alain Thierry Ouattara, deputy secretary general of the transitional government, reports Reuters.

Zida briefly served as interim leader of the West African country following the departure of long-term President Blaise Compaore in late October amid mass protests.

It would be recalled that authorities in Burkina Faso named former foreign minister, Michel Kafando, as transitional president on Monday in a key step towards restoring democratic civilian rule in the wake of a military takeover.

Kafando was chosen as part of a charter hammered out after Compaore resigned and fled the country on October 31 amid mass protests against his attempt to change the constitution and extend his 27-year rule.

Zida stepped in the following day and declared himself head of state.

Kafando, who also twice served as ambassador to the United Nations, will lead the West African nation to elections next year in which he will be barred from standing. His first task is the naming of a prime minister to appoint a 25-member transitional government.

“This is more than an honour. It’s a true mission which I will take with the utmost seriousness,” Kafando told journalists and the 23-strong committee that selected him, following his appointment.

The committee, drawn from the army, traditional and religious groups, civil society and Burkina’s political parties, chose him from among five candidates in a closed-door meeting that began on Sunday and went into the early hours on Monday.

His candidacy was proposed by the army.

“The choice of Michel Kafando is judicious,” said Simon Compaore, a leader of the opposition People’s Movement for Progress (MPP) party. “We’re also satisfied to see that Lieutenant Colonel Zida kept to his word.”

The African Union (AU) had given Zida, the operational commander of the elite presidential guard, two weeks to re-establish civilian rule or face sanctions. On Saturday, he restored the constitution, which was suspended when Compaore was forced from power.

In a statement on Monday, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the head of the AU commission, said she welcomed the progress made towards transferring power back to civilian leadership.

Former colonial ruler, France, which had considered Compaore as a key ally against Islamist militants in the region, congratulated the 72-year-old Kafando.

“It’s a page that is turning for the future of Burkina. We are relieved. I wish him luck. The people are ready to help him,” said Awa Yameogo, a tax agent in the capital Ouagadougou.