Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Security Tops Concerns as Burkina Faso Prepares to Vote

VOA News

   Worsening security dominates the list of concerns in Burkina Faso,
   where voters will go to the polls Sunday to elect a president and
   national legislators.

   Militant Islamist insurgencies and internal ethnic conflicts plague the
   West African nation of nearly 21 million, displacing more than 1
   million and killing at least 1,600 Burkinabè since 2015.

   Among the dead are at least 14 Burkina soldiers killed when suspected
   jihadists ambushed a military convoy November 11 in the northern
   province of Oudalan, near the borders with Mali and Niger, Reuters news
   service reported the government's information minister as saying.

   Of the displaced Burkinabè, more than 400,000 will be [1]unable to
   vote because they have lost identification papers or were unable to
   register. The Independent Electoral Commission said it could not
   register prospective voters in roughly 1,500 villages because of
   insecurity but said residents could travel elsewhere in the country to
   register and vote.

   Extremist groups' efforts to fan ethnic conflict also "have frayed
   Burkina Faso's long-cherished sense of national unity," the U.S.-based
   [2]Africa Center for Strategic Studies reports. "The ineffective and at
   times heavy-handed response of security forces, which had not
   previously faced a serious security threat, has made leadership in the
   combating of militant groups an overriding concern for voters."

References

   1. https://www.voanews.com/africa/burkina-faso-election-excludes-hundreds-thousands-displaced-people
   2. https://africacenter.org/spotlight/highlights-africa-2020-elections/

.