Burkina Faso goes to polls overshadowed by Islamist attacks
Election goes ahead after the government invokes ‘extraordinary circumstances’ allowing voting even if many polling stations cannot open
Voting began in Burkina Faso on Sunday, where President Roch Marc Christian Kabore has spent most of his five years in office fighting an Islamist insurgency that has forced a million people to flee their homes. He’s likely to win a second term as the insecurity disrupts voting in opposition strongholds.
Large swathes of the West African gold producer have become ungovernable since Islamist militants based in Mali expanded their reach across the border four years ago. In 2020, Burkina Faso recorded an unprecedented surge in attacks, both by militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Islamic state and rural militias. Rights groups say that abuse of civilians by security forces is also on the rise...
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