According to a Voice of America report, Lt. Col. Zida’s appointment has been welcomed by opposition leader, Ablasse Ouedraogo, who stated that Zida’s appointment should bring a measure of stability to the country before the next round of elections in November 2015.
Lt. Col., Isaac Zida, has been appointed as Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister by interim President Michel Kafando on Wednesday.
According to a Voice of America report, Lt. Col. Zida’s appointment has been welcomed by opposition leader, Ablasse Ouedraogo, who stated that Zida’s appointment should bring a measure of stability to the country before the next round of elections in November 2015.
Lt. Col. Zida, who declared himself as head of state on November 1 after Former President Blaise Compaore fled the country, will now play a key role in the country’s transitional government as he is tasked with forming a 25-member parliament that will be dissolved by next year’s elections.
"This government of 25 will have the huge task of creating the basis for an inclusive transition with the primary task of organising free, fair and transparent elections as well as important reforms for the future of our country," Zida told a press conference in the capital on Wednesday.
Opposition leader Ouedraogo has downplayed concerns that Zida’s appointment is a return to Compaore’s old order explaining that the recent turmoil experienced before Compaore’s departure and regional terrorist threats necessitated a strong leader for the country.
“According to the charter, there is no restriction for the military [person] to be appointed a prime minister,” said Ouedraogo. “We don’t see any difficulty in it, since appointing Mr. Zida means stability. Don’t forget that he is a military and right now in the Sahel region you know that there are problems with security, and to have a military [person] in this position will be helpful for the country.”
“What we need from the government is to work hard in such a way to ensure, transparent, equitable elections by the end of 2015. This is what the people of Burkina Faso [are] expecting from the new government” added Ouedraogo.