AFRICAN UNION ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION TO THE 29 NOVEMBER 2015 PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN BURKINA FASO

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

I. INTRODUCTION

At the invitation of the Government of Burkina Faso, the President of the African Union Commission Her Excellency Dr. NKOSAZANA Dlamini Zuma decided to deploy 55 Election Observers to the 29 November 2015, presidential and parliamentary elections in Burkina Faso. This is in line with the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007); the AU/OAU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa (2002); the African Peer Review Mechanism (2003); the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (A/SP1/12/01), Supplementary to the Protocol relating to the mechanism for conflict prevention, management, resolution, peacekeeping and security (2001); other relevant international instruments governing election observation as well as the legal framework regulating the presidential and parliamentary elections in Burkina Faso.

The Mission is led by H.E. Jean Omer Beriziky, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Madagascar. The AUEOM is comprised of African Ambassadors to the African Union in Addis Ababa, members of the Pan-African Parliament, officials of Election Management Bodies and members of African civil society organizations. The Observers come from 26 African countries .

This preliminary statement which precedes a more detailed final report, presents the initial findings of the AUEOM on the voting and counting operations. The Mission continues to follow-up post-electoral activities and will publish its overall evaluation of the entire electoral process in Burkina Faso, subsequently.

II. OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY OF THE MISSION

1. In line with the mandate conferred by the AU instruments regulating democratic elections in Africa, the AUEOM has as main goal, the independent, impartial and objective assessment of the 29 November 2015 presidential and parliamentary elections in Burkina Faso. The AU adopted the short term election observation methodology for this mission.

2. The Mission met with the principal stakeholders in the electoral process notably: most candidates or their representatives for the presidential elections, government authorities, the Independent National Electoral Commission and civil society. The Mission also concerted with representatives of the United Nations Office for West Africa. It equally met with other international elections observation missions present in the country including the Election Observation Mission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Information and Contact Mission of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), the Electoral Observation Mission of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (Cen-SAD) and the European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM). The Mission continues to meet with stakeholders, until its departure from the country.

3. Before deployment, the AUEOM organized pre-election briefing sessions on 25 and 26 November 2015, to prepare the Observers for the mission. The briefing took place in two phases: The Observers were first updated on the political and electoral context of the country through, interactive sessions held with the candidates, civil society organizations, the CENI and the Minister of Internal Affairs. Secondly, the Observers were drilled on the election observation methodology with the use of tactile Tablets which facilitate the rapid centralization of information on Election Day.

4. The 30 teams of AUEOM observers were deployed on 27 November 2015 to 38 of the 45 provinces in the country. The Observers witnessed the final campaigns for the election in Ouagadougou and in their respective areas of deployment. These teams visited 451 polling stations on Election Day.

5. This preliminary statement is centered on the observations conducted by the short term observers deployed to all the regions of the country and who observed the opening, voting and counting of the votes.

III- FINDINGS OF THE AUEOM

After its meetings and observations, the AUEOM presents the following findings:

A- The Political Context of the 2015 Presidential and parliamentary elections

6. These elections which mark the end of the Transition are the first to be open and competitive in Burkina Faso after the popular uprising on 30 and 31 October 2015, led to the resignation of ex-president Blaise Compaoré. The elections were conducted in an atmosphere of peace, marked by maturity of both the political actors and the Burkinabe people.

7. The Burkinabe Transition was not an easy one. The Transition authorities and the actors within the country, demonstrated restrain and a high sense of responsibility to overcome the numerous challenges which confronted the Transition all through its tenure.

8. In order to prevent the occurrence of other events which could weaken the stability of the country, an ECOWAS mediation mission to Burkina Faso, led by presidents Macky Sall of Senegal and Boni Yayi of Benin arrived Ouagadougou on 18 September 2015, to find a solution to the 16 September 2015 coup d’état. The mission facilitated a reschedule of the elections which were to take place initially, on 11 October 2015.

B. The Legal framework for the 2015 elections

9. The twin elections of 29 November 2015 were governed by three principal legal texts which include the national Constitution of 2nd June 1991 as amended, Law No 014-2001/AN of 3rd July 2001 on the Electoral Code, revised by Law No 005-2015/CNT of 7 April 2015 promulgated by Decree No 2015-427/PRES-TRANS of 9 April 2015 and the Transition Charter adopted on 14 November 2014.

10. The Constitution endows every Burkinabe citizen with civil liberties, notably the freedoms of expression, opinion, association, movement as well as political rights which involve citizen participation in the management of state affairs. The fundamental law in its first article consecrates the principle of non-discrimination, which is one of the principles governing the fundamental rights and duties of Burkinabe citizens of both sexes, from all regions and religions and from every political sphere. The Constitution in its article 13 also gives political parties the right to contest in elections.

11. The Mission was informed of revisions made to Law No 014-2001/AN on the Electoral Code revised by Law No 005-2015/CNT of 7 April 2015.

12. The President of the Republic incarnates national unity and is elected through a majority two-round voting system for a five-year mandate. Elected through universal direct, equal and secret suffrage, the President is re-eligible only once, in line with the principle of term limitation to the presidential mandate, consecrated by the Constitution.

13. The members of the National Assembly are elected through a national or a provincial list system, by proportional representation with distribution of seats complimented using the highest remainder. Same as the President of the Republic, the 127 parliamentarians are elected through universal direct, equal and secret suffrage; for a five-year term. Sixteen parliamentarians are elected through the national lists while 111 are elected from the provincial lists. The voting system for the parliamentary elections encourages proximity between those elected and the local population.

14. Overall, the AUEOM notes that the legal framework for the twin elections in Burkina Faso is in line with the continental and international standards required for democratic elections.

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C. The Electoral Administration

15. Law No 019-2009/AN of 7 May 2009 created the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), with the principal duty to organize and supervise elections and referendums as well as to put in place and manage the voter roll. It is endowed with organizational and functional autonomy.

16. The CENI is made up of 15 members from political parties and political groups, and civil society. The Mission noted the respect for parity in the representation of the different institutions within this body. The permanent Bureau of the CENI is made up of 5 members led by a President, chosen from the civil society. The members of the CENI are appointed by ministerial decision for a five-year mandate, renewable once.

17. The CENI has a permanent administration which is placed under the authority of a President and managed by a Secretary General. In order to guarantee its proper functioning, the CENI has branches at the provincial level (Provincial Independent Electoral Commission), at the council level (Council Independent Electoral Commission), and at the sub-divisional level (Sub-divisional Independent Electoral Commission). The mandate of the members of the branches ends with the proclamation of the final results in their respective electoral constituencies. The revised law on the Electoral Code in its Article 17 provides for the creation of branches abroad to include the vote of Burkinabe citizens residing out of the country. To this end, the Independent Electoral Commission of the Embassy (CEIAM) and the Independent Electoral Commission of the Consular Post (CEIC), were created even though, Burkinabe citizens residing abroad did not take part in the elections of this year.

18. The Mission noted that, despite the current sociopolitical dynamics in Burkina Faso, there is a general consensus amongst political actors on the independence of the CENI. The Mission is satisfied with the level of confidence bestowed by the political actors on the electoral administration and also with the capacity of this body to play its role as a neutral and impartial judge.

D- Voter Registration
19. By virtue of Article 38 of the Constitution, all Burkinabe citizens aged eighteen (18) years and above, on the date of elections have the right to register as voters, using a birth certificate, a declaratory judgment of birth or a biometric national identity card. However, persons convicted for crimes, those under judicial custody, incapacitated majors as well as persons devoid of civic and political rights are not authorized to take part in elections (Article 44 of the Electoral Code).

20. The electoral corps of Burkinabe is constituted in a national permanent database, made up of the different provincial electoral lists as well as data for those residing abroad (Article 47 of Electoral Code). The CENI established electoral lists and carried out other related operations such as the biometric registration of voters.

21. The voter roll is subject to annual revision however, owing to the context of the Transition, an exceptional revision took place from 3rd March to 18 May 2015. In addition, the CENI used the competence conferred on it by Article 59 of the Electoral Code, to extend voter registration for persons such as retiring civil servant and voters changing residence, concerned by this article till 26 August 2015, to guarantee the right of every citizen to participate in these landmark elections.

22. The voter roll for the elections of 29 November 2015 was published on 9 August 2015. Owing to the postponement of elections from 11 October 2015, complimentary electoral lists were published on 22nd October 2015.

23. At the end of the revision of the voter roll and the expiry of the period for appeals, the Burkinabe electoral corps for the 29 November 2015 elections stood as follows:

• Total number of registered voters : 5.517.015
• Male : 2.889.255
• Female : 2.596.431

E- Electoral Campaign
24. According to articles 137 and 186 of the Electoral Code, the legal campaign periods for presidential and parliamentary elections are 21 and 15 days respectively, before the Election Day. Campaign for the presidential election started on 8 November 2015 meanwhile that for the parliamentary election began on 15 November 2015.

25. The Code of Conduct adopted on 2nd June 2015 by stakeholders in the presidential and parliamentary elections through the initiative of the High Communication Council, to regulate the activities of parties was an exemplary step. This Code prohibited notably, all appeals or the resort to violence.

26. In an effort to establish equity over the means available to the different candidates and political parties, Article 68 of the Electoral Code forbids the use of publicity gadgets such as fabrics, t-shirts, key-holders, calendars and others bearing effigies of candidates or symbols of political parties as well as the carrying or usage of these items, forty-eight (48) hours to the election day. However, the AUEOM observed that this provision of the law was not respected by certain militants of presidential candidates who dressed in political colours and effigies on the eve of elections.

27. On the other hand, the state through Law No 008-2009/AN of 14 April 2009 provided for public financing of the cost of the election campaign and the activities of political parties and groups beyond the electoral campaign.

28. The Minister of Territorial Administration, decentralization and Security shared this state contribution equally amongst the different presidential candidates as defined by a Ministerial Council Decree. With regards to the parliamentary elections, the sharing was done with respect to the number of candidates fielded by the political group or party in the elections. The AUEOM notes that this public financing is not subjected to any obligatory fielding by political parties or groups of youths in order to involve this category of citizens in the political affairs of the state. However, this public financing is subjected to the respect of statutory obligations by the beneficiary (Article 8).

29. Though significant efforts were deployed to ensure equity between the parties and candidates as they campaign and disseminate their respective political platforms, the AUEOM observed clear disparity in the means held by the different competitors through disparities in the number of posters and billboards displayed and also through the size of political meetings held.

30. From meetings held by the AUEOM with the different presidential candidates and their representatives, the election campaigns went on without any major incidents and no complaints were filed. The AUEOM welcomes the serene atmosphere which reigned during the electoral campaigns.

F- The Involvement of Civil Society
31. The civil society played a key role in the current Transition in Burkina Faso. The AUEOM appreciates the efforts of civil society which continued through their full engagement in the twin elections of 2015. To this end, several initiatives were undertaken by the Burkinabe civil society to support the electoral process.

32. The AUEOM was informed of the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Domestic Election Observation (CODEL), which is a group of civil society organizations which constituted a platform to monitor the electoral process.

33. The AUEOM was equally informed that CODEL established a surveillance unit which transmitted data rapidly to CENI to enable it correct any weaknesses realized in the field, through this rapid alert system. The AUEOM encourages collaboration between the CENI and CODEL as well as the determination of these two structures to contribute to credible elections in Burkina Faso.

IV- ELECTION DAY OBSERVATIONS BY THE AUEOM

34. The Election Day assessment is based on the reports from the teams of election observers deployed to all the regions of the country. The thirty (30) teams of the AUEOM observed elections in 451 polling stations.

The AUEOM observed the following items:

A- Opening of polling stations
35. In all the polling stations visited, the atmosphere at the opening was calm with security presence judged as discrete. In all, 85.7% of the polling stations opened on time. The lateness in some polling stations was mainly attributed to delay by polling officials to arrange the polling station or the lack of electoral material. In these cases, the delays did not surpass 15 minutes.

B- Turnout
36. Despite the stakes surrounding these elections, the AUEOM observed low voter turnout in areas visited. In 39.7% of the cases, queues were not observed. Observers equally noted that few voters had cast their votes in relation to the number of registered voters at the time of passage in the polling stations visited. The AUEOM however observed that the small numbers of voters allocated per polling station could partly explain the absence of long queues in front of polling stations.

C- Voting

37. The AUEOM acknowledges the efforts made by polling agents to ensure that the electoral process is conducted in accordance with the electoral law and directives given by the CENI.

38. However, the Mission noted the difficulties faced by some voters to locate their polling stations owing to the absence of voter list posted at polling stations. In 6.6% of polling stations visited, voters were not allowed to vote. Some of the reasons noted by the AUEOM include: in 25.9% of the cases, the voter was not in the right polling station; in 48.1% of the cases, the name of the voter was not on the voter register; in 11.1% of the cases the person’s status as a voter was contested; in 7.4% of the cases, the person was not a registered voter and this was the same, for those who lacked a required identification document.

D- Ballot papers and electoral material

39. The AUEOM noted that in 95.6% of polling stations visited, the electoral materials were available and in sufficient quantities. The materials lacking in the polling stations where this was observed, included report sheets, indelible ink, polling booths, lamp and voting ink for illiterate voters.

40. On the average, after counting, 4.8% of ballot papers per polling station were spoiled. Amongst the spoiled ballots, ink used by illiterate voters smeared on space reserved for other candidates. The AUEOM is not in a position to evaluate the magnitude of this phenomenon but recommends that in future, the use of ink which rapidly dries off will avoid several invalid votes.

E- Secrecy of the Vote

41. The Mission noted that in 95.4% of the polling stations visited, the secrecy of the vote was guaranteed. In the few cases where it was not, the poor positioning of the polling booths hindered the secrecy of the vote.

F- The electoral personnel

42. In all the polling stations visited by the AUEOM, with the exception of one, all the five (5) members were present. The AUEOM notes with satisfaction the competence exhibited generally, by the electoral personnel who dispatched their duties with mastery and professionalism.

G- The participation of women
43. The AUEOM observed that women constituted almost half of the polling staff. However, women only made up 25% and 22% of national observers and poll watchers respectively, for parties and candidates.

H- Access to Voters
44. The AUEOM observed that, 7.9% of polling stations visited were not accessible to the physically challenged however; a good number of them had staircases adapted to enable access to this category of voters into polling stations. On the other hand, the AUEOM noted that priority was given to the elderly, physically challenged and to pregnant women in 66.9% of polling stations visited. Lastly, where voters needed assistance, in 63.7% of the cases it was offered by members of the polling station and in 47.3 % of the cases, by persons of the voter’s choice.

45. The AUEOM recommends the provision of better measures to enable this category of persons to equally participate in elections as the majority of voters.

I- Poll watchers and National observers

46. The AUEOM noted great disparity between the candidates and political parties in their capacity to ensure the presence of their representatives in polling stations. Amongst the presidential candidates in the polling stations visited, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was represented in 95.4%, Zéphirin Diabré in 84.8%, and Bénéwendé Sankara in 22.1%. The representatives of the other candidates were present in less than 6% of the polling stations visited. The AUEOM recognizes the role of poll watchers to enhance the acceptance of results by political parties and candidates and to this end, encourages their presence at polling stations.

47. In 97.8% of polling stations visited, the poll watchers and observers were able to exercise their duties. However this role could not be properly exercised in polling stations without space, forcing some to perform their duties by observing through the windows.

48. The AUEOM noted the presence on the average of 1.2 national observers per polling station visited. The Mission observed the presence on the field of observers from the civil society as CODEL, the Catholic mission, Eveil Club Djibo, the Coalition of women for and development, iCODE, the Justice and Peace Commission. The AUEOM congratulates the Burkinabe civil society for efforts deployed to support the electoral process.

J- Security agents

49. The AUEOM acknowledged the professional role played by the security agents in the electoral process. However, in almost 11% of the polling stations visited, there were armed security officers inside during voting. Though this presence was considered as discrete during the opening and closure of the polls, the AUEOM recommends that the presence of security agents could be limited outside polling stations so as not to intimidate voters, in line with international standards for the conduct of elections.

K- Closing and counting

50. The closing time was respected in most of the polling stations visited by the AUEOM and those still on the queue were allowed to exercise their right to vote. Only two polling stations closed more than an hour after closing time, due to the late arrival of scrutinizers designated by the president of the polling station.

51. The AUEOM notes with satisfaction, the measure to select two scrutinizers from the voters of the polling station, to take part in the counting. This goes to increase the transparency of the procedure.

52. During the counting, there was insufficient light in 32% of the polling stations visited, though this did not affect or delay the counting process thanks to the resilience and tenacity of the scrutinizers.

53. The counting procedures as prescribed by the CENI were widely respected however, the posting of the results at the polling stations was not systematically done in all the polling stations observed.

V. Conclusion

The presidential and parliamentary elections of 29 November 2015 in Burkina Faso took place under transparent and peaceable conditions in accordance with standards recognized by the African Union and the international community. The progressive redress of the minute difficulties experienced, will strengthen the democratic process in the Burkina Faso.

The Burkinabe people, political actors and the Transition authorities deserve credit for the serene and tranquil atmosphere within which the elections were conducted. Through the use of national ingenuity, the numerous challenges which confronted the Transition were surmounted.

The 29 November elections open a new page in the history of Burkina Faso. The African Union expresses its delight and gratitude to the Transition authorities notably the President Michel Kafando and the Prime Minister, Yacouba Isaac Zida, for their high sense of responsibility and the determination to bring the Transition in the country to a successful end.

The AUEOM renews the commitment of the AU to pursue, with the firm collaboration of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations and all the bilateral and multilateral partners, its efforts to accompany and support a smooth end to the Transition process and, in the long term, reconciliation and the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law in the country.

The Mission hereby makes the following recommendations:

RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Government:
• Continue dialogue between the political parties and civil society ;
• Ensure the continuity of permanent dialogue between the different institutions notably the CENI and the Constitutional Council in order to strengthen coordination and enhance the division of labour in the electoral process;
• Foster the promotion of the politics of inclusion in the country.

To the CENI:
• Continue to put in place measures to improve transparency in order to maintain the confidence of stakeholders in the electoral process;
• Strengthen the technical, logistics and human capacities of the institution to improve the organization of future elections;
• Ensure that the presence of security agents is limited outside polling stations.

To Civil Society:
• Continue with civic actions to better inform the society and to maintain their support to electoral institutions;
To Political parties and candidates:
• Respect the results from the ballot boxes and in case of grievances, to resort to legal means for redress;
• Reinforce the capacity of their poll watchers and sensitize their militants to participate in elections.

Ouagadougou, 1st December 2015

For the Mission,

His Excellency Jean-Omer Beriziky
Head of Mission