Politics of Burkina Faso

According to the 1991 Constitution of Burkina Faso, the politics of Burkina Faso take place in the form of a semi-presidential republic, with powers separated between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The President of Burkina Faso, who has historically established the majority of Burkinabé policy, is the head of state. Also under the executive branch is a prime minister and a cabinet, the Council of Ministers. The president-appointed Prime Minister of Burkina Faso is the head of government under a multi-party system.

The legislative branch includes a unicameral parliament, the National Assembly, which passes laws and monitors government actions. The judicial branch includes at its base Tribunals of First Instance, then Courts of Appeal, and at the top the Supreme Court with four chambers—constitutional, administrative, judicial, and financial. This branch is the weakest and least-independent in Burkina Faso because of inadequate human, budgetary, and logistical resources in addition to the president, as the President of the High Council of the Magistracy, having power over key appointments.

Throughout Burkina Faso's history, the military has played an integral role in politics, and the country is currently under Ibrahim Traoré, a military captain. The Burkinabé government has experienced 11 successful military coups d'état because of weak civilian institutions, insecurity, and widespread frustration with ineffective governance. After coups and during transition periods, the Constitution is largely ignored, giving unchecked authority to the head of state. After an internal coup ousted Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the previous military head of state, a new transitional charter was adopted that named Traoré the transitional president. The coup was primarily orchestrated because Damiba ineffectively handled rising jihadist influence and attacks, which have killed thousands and displaced more than two million.