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Burkina Faso Moves On From Failed Coup, Gears Up for Election


Burkina Faso Moves On From Failed Coup, Gears Up for Election
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Burkina Faso Moves On From Failed Coup, Gears Up for Election

In the aftermath of the failed coup in Burkina Faso, questions are being raised on how to get the electoral process on track again and whether members of the former ruling party will take part.

But the streets of Burkina Faso's capital city, Ouagadougou, are busy again as people try to move on from the events of September 16, which paralyzed all economic activity for a week.

Saidou Zangre reopened his clothes shop Saturday. "The recovery can't be automatic," he said. "It is also our role to come back into the city center and show people that it's OK, that there is no problem anymore."

The transitional government, led by interim President Michel Kafando, met Friday, two days after he announced he was back in charge.

The decision was made to dissolve the presidential guard, or RSP, the elite unit that was behind the failed coup.

The RSP had said it wanted "inclusive elections" and a reversal of a decree issued by transitional authorities weeks earlier that barred some former members of ex-President Blaise Compaoré's government from running.

Compaoré was ousted last year after he tried to change the constitution to run for another term. He had been in power for 27 years.

Some critics say the RSP's demand was just an excuse to seize power, but approved political candidate Adama Kanazoe said that if the issue had to be debated, he was open to dialogue.

"It is important to find a middle ground so that everybody can feel comfortable in Burkina Faso," he said.

The transitional government also agreed to investigate the failed coup, in which 11 people were killed, while dismissing the putchists' call for an amnesty.

The election, initially set for October 11, is likely to be delayed. No new date has been announced.

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