Burkina Faso's ruling party wins big in municipal elections

Burkina Faso’s ruling party has won municipal elections held in the west African country.

The polls are seen as a key step in the country’s transition to democracy from the authoritarian rule of ousted strongman, Blaise Campaore.

Provisional results from Sunday’s polls were published late Wednesday, with final results expected to be released by the state council after a week, Reliefweb.inter reports.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore’s party, Peoples Movement for progress (MPP) won 11,167 councillors out of 19,222 positions, ahead the Union for progress and Change (UPC) which took 3,051 seats, the Independent Election Commission said.

Kabore’s party founded in January 2014 won almost all the major cities with only Dori, capital of the Sahel region on the boarder with Niger and Mali, likely to to be lost.

The Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) of ousted president Campoare was in the third place with some 2,134 municipal councillors. The CDP has ruled almost all the country’s municipal councils for 20 years since 1995.

Voters turnout was just 47.65 percent, the lowest recorded since the municipal elections were first held in the country.

A woman presides over a polling station in Burkina Faso's municipal elections. #BurkinaFasoElections pic.twitter.com/hAsvWey7hE

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The subsequent interim government had dissolved all municipal councils set up under Compaore and replaced the mayors with non-elected prefects.

Presidential elections last November were won by Kabore, a leading figure in Compaore’s ousting who had held a number of posts under the former president before falling out with him.

AGENCY