UN West Africa envoy meets with Burkina Faso's president-elect

The UN secretary-general's special representative for West Africa is in Burkina Faso's capital of Ouagadougou on Tuesday and he met with the country's president-elect, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

The UN envoy Mohamed Ibn Chambas also met with the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission and representatives of the European Union and African Union observation missions, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

Following the announcement of the preliminary results, Ibn Chambas congratulated the people of Burkina Faso, civil society, the transitional authorities, the Electoral Commission and all political actors on making these elections a success, he said.

The UN envoy noted that the elections mark the end of the transition period in the country and said that the United Nations and the international community stand with Burkina Faso in this new era.

The Independent National Electoral Commission said earlier Tuesday that results showed that Kabore, from the Movement of People for Progress party, won 53.5 percent of the vote, enough to secure a first round victory.

Kabore, 58, will now replace the transitional government put in place after Blaise Compaore, Burkina Faso's longtime leader, was toppled in October 2014.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed the peaceful conduct of the presidential and legislative elections in Burkina Faso and congratulated the people of the West African country for their enthusiastic participation, "which shows their strong commitment to the democratic process."

Ban, in particular, saluted the "strong participation of women in the electoral process," according to a statement issued by his spokesman here. Endit