Burkina Faso’s ruling military junta has dissolved the country’s electoral commission, branding it a financial burden and asserting it as a move to strengthen national sovereignty over the electoral process.

According to a report on state-run RTB TV, the country’s interior ministry will now oversee all electoral affairs, following the decision to scrap the commission.

The move comes as part of sweeping reforms initiated by the military government since it seized power in September 2022. These reforms have included postponing general elections that would have marked a return to civilian rule.

A national vote had been scheduled for last year, but the junta extended the transition period until July 2029, effectively allowing the current leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, to remain in office and eligible to run in the next presidential poll.

The AFP news agency quoted Territorial Administration Minister Emile Zerbo as saying the electoral commission was “subsidised” with approximately $870,000 (£650,000) annually. He argued that abolishing it would “reinforce our sovereign control on the electoral process and at the same time limit foreign influences”.

The military government, which took control amid growing dissatisfaction over the civilian authorities’ handling of an Islamist insurgency, has since distanced itself from France, its former colonial power, in favour of strengthening ties with Russia.

Rights organisations have accused the army of targeting civilians in its military campaign against jihadists and cracking down on political activity and freedom of expression.

Despite the junta’s promises of improved security, questions persist over the effectiveness of its operations. The jihadist group JNIM claimed responsibility for over 280 attacks in the first half of 2025 – a figure that is double the number of attacks recorded in the same period in 2024, according to data verified by the BBC.

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