OUAGADOUGOU, July 12, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore on Saturday won his party’s backing to run for a second term, despite struggling to crush a bloody jihadist insurgency.
Simon Compaore, president of the People’s Movement for Progress (MPP), made the announcement to cheering supporters at a stadium rally in the capital Ouagadougou.
Thousands turned out in a massive show of force, filling a 5,000-capacity sports stadium in Ouagadougou and 20 giant tents outside.
Kabore himself could not attend the event, because of his role, said a party executive.
But in a message read out by a party spokesman, he welcomed the decision and promised to build “solidarity and development” in the country.
Since Kabore took charge, a jihadist offensive has advanced across the nation, igniting ethnic squabbles, claiming at least 1,100 lives and forcing nearly a million people from their homes.
Kabore’s performance during this mounting crisis is now under scrutiny as the presidential ballot looms in November.