News Analysis: West African leaders to continue pushing for peace in sub-region

The reinstallation of Burkina Faso's Transition President Michel Kafando on Sept. 23 by West African regional leaders marked the end of a one-week coup that had been carried out by former guards of the country's ex-President Blaise Compaore.

Given the abuses committed by Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) vowed to ensure the Burkina Faso crisis does not evolve into a major crisis in the sub-region.

In their swiftness to restore the transition government, the sub-regional leaders, under pressure from Burkinabes, used all the necessary means to ensure the transition government is restored.

The first round of talks that were led by ECOWAS Chairman who is also Senegal's President Macky Sall on Sept. 18, were considered to be a failure by many analysts who said the talks had favoured coup plotters by guaranteeing them amnesty, postponement of elections and reintegration of all those who had been denied a chance to participate in the forthcoming elections by the Constitutional Council, the highest judicial organ on electoral matters in Burkina Faso.

After the talks, tension started rising in this West African country with civil society groups and soldiers from other parts of the country starting to descend on the capital Ouagadougou.

In less than one year, the RSP soldiers were making their third attempt to disrupt the transition process by carrying out a coup.

Majority of the Burkinabe population are now questioning whether it is fair to forgive people who had killed and injured civilians.

A number of them have agreed with the Transition Prime Minister Isaac Zida who, speaking after a cabinet meeting on Friday, said military chiefs who had organized the coup, ordered the killings and carried out the orders to kill should be identified and prosecuted.

Another thorny issue has been the inclusion of all candidates in the electoral process. The former ruling party, Congress for Democracy and Progress and its allies, whose candidates were disqualified from contesting in the elections, have continued to demand for their inclusion.

The Constitutional Council has already ruled on the issue, rejecting the candidature of all those who participated in last year's attempt to amend the Constitution to allow Compaore to contest for a third term.

Given the "hard line" position by judges and civil society groups rejecting the inclusion of all those who supported Compaore's attempt to amend the Constitution, it seems it will be very difficult to allow them to contest in the elections.

It seems a solution is already being sought for the problem as replacements for the rejected candidates are being sought. According to Burkina Faso's law, people who are ineligible can be replaced by other candidates.

Burkina Faso will continue grappling with a number of challenges such as disarmament of RSP and the issue of inclusion. Failure to address these issues will continue posing a challenge to successive regimes.

To guarantee peace in the sub-region, ECOWAS has asked Burkina Faso's transition authorities to use all recommendations in the sub-regional agreement to ensure the country holds free and fair elections. Endit