Democracy Derailed: Burkina Faso Faces Political Turmoil

Burkina Faso's military leader, army captain Ibrahim Traoré, has openly declared his abandonment of democratic principles, stating in April that 'democracy isn't for us'. After seizing power in September 2022 and promising elections by June 2024, the junta reneged on this pledge, postponing any transition until 2029, and now confirms no intention of restoring democracy. Instead, Burkina Faso's military junta is tightening its grip through intensified repression while collaborating with neighboring states to expand its undemocratic model internationally.

This repression unfolds against a backdrop of a worsening jihadist insurgency. While initial frustration with the previous democratic government's security failures contributed to the military takeover, the army has failed to improve the situation; the insurgency has escalated, and civilians bear the brunt. All parties are accused of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes. Since the coup, there is increasing evidence that Burkina Faso's armed forces and allied militias have targeted civilians, particularly members of the Fulani ethnic group. To maintain legitimacy amidst failing counter-insurgency efforts and civilian casualties, the junta is determined to control the narrative, silence dissent, and crush any perceived challenge to its authority.

Traoré's anti-democratic rhetoric is backed by concrete actions. In January, the government dissolved all political parties, citing their role in sowing division and weakening social cohesion. Civil society organizations (CSOs) are also under attack; authorities have suspended over a thousand organizations in recent months. In April, 118 CSOs were dissolved for alleged non-compliance with a July 2025 law imposing strict registration, compliance, and reporting requirements. Despite the law allowing a year for compliance, these organizations, including human rights groups like the African Meeting for the Defence of Human Rights and the Burkinabè Coalition for Women's Rights, were dissolved prematurely. Religious associations and student groups have faced similar fates, with Association As Salam and the Coordination of Young Muslims of Burkina suspended for alleged public disorder, and the General Student Union of Burkina Faso suspended in May after criticizing the government's security record.

Media outlets have also been targeted, typically for their reporting on security matters. In May, the state media regulator indefinitely suspended French TV channel TV5 Monde, accusing it of siding with terrorist groups. Anyone speaking out risks severe repercussions, including arrest, detention, enforced disappearance, forced conscription, and torture. Burkina Faso's LGBTQI+ community is particularly vulnerable, as the junta criminalized same-sex relations in 2025, imposing jail sentences of up to five years. The government has also granted itself the authority to strip citizenship from individuals deemed to be acting against the national interest. In December, the junta announced its intention to reinstate the death penalty, marking an even more ominous turn. Due to these actions, Burkina Faso has been added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist, indicating a severe deterioration of civic space.

Burkina Faso is not operating in isolation; under Traoré, it has forged close alliances with neighboring military regimes in Mali and Niger, promoting a model that rejects democracy and international scrutiny. In January 2025, they completed their joint withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a year after forming their rival Alliance of Sahel States, a clear response to ECOWAS's pressure to restore civilian rule. The three states have also formally initiated the process to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), denouncing it as a 'tool of neocolonial oppression' and promising an alternative, though unlikely to possess the ICC's power to issue arrest warrants against senior figures. For survivors of human rights atrocities, these withdrawals remove vital avenues to justice.

Further isolating itself, Burkina Faso suspended the UN Human Rights Office in February, which had operated since 2019, in retaliation for a statement by UN human rights chief Volker Türk urging the junta to reverse its ban on political parties and open up civic space. The UN has since concluded it must close its office. These actions serve to shield military leaders and security forces from external accountability. This realignment also signifies a shift away from former colonial power France and other democratic states towards Russia, a partner with no interest in human rights. Burkina Faso's relations with Russia have expanded beyond military cooperation to stronger economic ties, including a gold-mining deal signed last year.

Even while rejecting international scrutiny, Traoré has cultivated a global following through adept use of social media and disinformation, portraying himself as a pan-African leader akin to liberation-era icons like Thomas Sankara. His message resonates with genuine anger about colonialism and power imbalances with Western states. However, the victims of his human rights abuses are not Westerners; they are Burkinabe civilians slaughtered by the army and activists and journalists silenced by the regime. Democratic freedoms are not un-African, and denying them is not pan-African. African democracies stand to lose the most if Traoré's model spreads and are best positioned to challenge it. They should refuse to normalize his narrative and press him to restore fundamental freedoms, rebuild a path to democratic rule, and recognize the value of international accountability.