Ibrahim Traore - Burkina Faso's Transional President
Burkina Faso’s military-led government has issued a sweeping decree. It dissolves all political parties and political formations in the country. This marks a dramatic escalation in the junta’s consolidation of power under President Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
The move effectively eliminates the legal framework that once regulated party politics. It transfers party assets to the state. Officials say the decision is intended to preserve national unity and reform political governance. However, it has sparked widespread concern about the future of civic freedoms.
The decree, approved by the council of ministers on 29 January 2026, comes more than three years after Traoré’s military takeover in September 2022 and follows earlier suspensions of party activities that had been in place since the coup. Interior Minister Émile Zerbo said the government’s review found that the proliferation of political parties had “led to excesses,” undermined social cohesion and weakened the state, and that dissolving them was part of a broader effort to “rebuild the state” and strengthen governance structures.
Before being dissolved, Burkina Faso had more than 100 registered political parties, with at least 15 represented in the National Assembly after the 2020 general election — a landscape now dismantled by the military decree. All tangible and financial assets once owned by these parties will be transferred to the state, and the government has outlined plans to repeal laws governing party financing and the official status of opposition parties. A draft of new legislation to regulate political groupings and their financing will be submitted to the Transitional Legislative Assembly for approval “as soon as possible,” Zerbo said.
The dissolution encompasses established parties across the political spectrum. Among those affected are historically significant groups such as the Party for Democracy and Socialism/Metba, a left-wing party formed through mergers of earlier organizations; the National Rebirth Party, a centre-right formation with electoral history; and the Sankarist Democratic Front, rooted in the legacy of revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara. Other parties dissolved include the Convergence of Hope and the Rally of the Ecologists of Burkina, illustrating the breadth of the decree’s impact on the nation’s political fabric.
Government officials insist that the dissolution is designed to forge a new model of political participation and stability in a country long challenged by internal turmoil, including a severe Islamist insurgency linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS affiliates that has destabilized large swathes of the Sahel region. Authorities argue that reform of the partisan system is necessary to combat fragmentation and foster a more unified approach to national governance.
However, rights groups and regional observers have raised alarms about the implications for democratic governance and political freedom. Critics note that while party activities were already suspended under junta rule, this decree represents a further contraction of political space and may entrench one-party or military control in the absence of a clear roadmap back to civilian rule. Burkina Faso joins a string of neighbouring Sahel states where democratic transitions have stalled and military authorities have tightened control over political institutions.
Since seizing power in 2022, Traoré’s government has postponed elections initially promised for July 2024, extended transitional arrangements, and undertaken sweeping institutional changes, including dissolving the independent electoral commission prior to this latest decree. These actions have deepened concerns about the durability of democratic processes in the country.
