Off the wire
• Roundup: Japan whaling fleet heads to Antarctic to hunt amid criticism from int'l community  • News analysis: Ukraine's free trade deal with EU sparks controversy over impact on economy  • 1st Ld-Writethru: Chinese shares close higher Tuesday  • China invests big in modern agriculture  • Students kept indoors in smog-bound Beijing  • First BRICS Media Summit ends with declaration  • China imposes anti-dumping duties on MMA imports  • Spotlight: Latin-American countries expand common ground to secure climate deal amid divisions  • Foreign exchange rates in Singapore  • BRICS bank open to all possible cooperation: vice president  
You are here: 　 Home

Roundup: Roch Marc Christian Kabore wins Burkina Faso's presidential poll

Xinhua, December 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Roch Marc Christian Kabore of the People's Movement for Progress (MPP) has won Burkina Faso's presidential elections with 53.43 percent of the votes cast, equivalent to 1,668,169 votes, the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) announced Monday night.

His closest challenger in Sunday's polls, Zephirin Diabre, got 29.65 percent of the votes, equivalent to 924,811 votes.

Over 5.5 million voters, among them 2.6 million women, turned up on Sunday in 17,898 polling stations across the country to elect the new president out of 14 candidates and 127 members of parliament out of 7,000 candidates.

Between 1994 to 1996, Kabore, 58, served as Burkina Faso's prime minister during the regime of ex-president Blaise Compaore. He equally served as Speaker of the country's Parliament from 2002 to 2012.

In January 2014, he differed with Compaore over proposed amendment of the Constitution to allow the latter contest for another presidential term.

Kabore's election is expected to restore constitutional normalcy in Burkina Faso after it was disrupted in October 2014 by a popular uprising that forced Compaore to resign after 27 years in power.

The election marked the end of a transition period that was slightly disrupted in September this year when soldiers allied to former president organized a short-lived coup.

The attempted coup led by a former army chief, Gen. Gilbert Diendere, failed and the elite presidential guard unit was disbanded.

Many in Burkina Faso expect Kabore to revive the country's economy, strengthen democracy and promote national reconciliation.

Elsewhere, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday congratulated the peaceful conduct of Burkina Faso's presidential and legislative elections on Nov. 29, 2015.

"As Burkina Faso awaits for results, the secretary general encourages all political leaders and all national stakeholders to maintain an atmosphere of peace that prevailed on the election day. He appeals to all parties to resolve any disputes that may arise through legal means," a statement by the UN secretary general's spokesman said. Enditem