GOVERNMENT

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With Compaore alone at the helm, a democratic constitution was approved by referendum in 1991. In December 1991, Compaore was elected President, running unopposed after the opposition boycotted the election. The opposition did participate in the following year's legislative elections, in which the ruling party won a majority of seats.

President Blaise Compaore
The government of the Fourth Republic includes a strong presidency, a prime minister, a Council of Ministers presided over by the president, a unicameral National Assembly, and the judiciary. The legislature and judiciary are nominally independent but remain susceptible to executive influence.
Burkina held multiparty municipal elections in 1995, 2000, and 2006, as well as legislative elections in 1997, 2002, and 2007. Balloting was considered largely free and fair in all elections despite minor irregularities. However, the ruling party's dominance meant that the playing field was not entirely even. The Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), the governing party, won overwhelming majorities in all the elections until the 2002 legislative election, where the CDP won with a small majority of the 111 seats. The opposition made large gains in the 2002 elections.
Compaore won the November 1998 presidential election for a second 7-year term against two minor-party candidates. But within weeks of Compaore's victory the domestic opposition took to the streets to protest the December 13, 1998 murder of leading independent journalist Norbert Zongo, whose investigations of the death of the President's brother's chauffeur suggested involvement of the Compaore family.
The opposition Collective Against Impunity--led by human rights activist Halidou Ouedraogo and including opposition political parties of Prof. Joseph Ki-Zerbo and (for a while) Hermann Yameogo, son of the first President--challenged Compaore and his government to bring Zongo's murderers to justice and make political reforms. The Zongo killings still resonate in Burkina politics, though not as strongly as in the past. There has been no significant progress on the investigation of the case.
Compaore was re-elected to the presidency for a 5-year term in November 2005. The current cabinet is dominated by Compaore and the CDP. Given the fragile roots of democratic institutions, constitutional checks and balances are seldom effective in practice. The constitution was amended in 2000 to limit the president to a 5-year term, renewable once, beginning with the November 2005 election. The amendment is controversial because it did not make any mention of retroactivity, meaning that President Compaore's eligibility to present himself for the 2005 presidential election is a matter of debate. The Constitutional Court ruled in October 2005 that the amendment was not retroactive, and Compaore went on to win the November 2005 presidential election with over 80% of the vote. International and national electoral observers mostly believed that the election was fair.
Principal Government Officials
President--Blaise Compaore
Prime Minister--Tertius Zongo
State Secretaries
Human Rights Promotion--Monique Ilboudo
Literacy--Jeanne Some
Youth--Bassirou Ly

Type: Republic.
Independence: August 5, 1960.
Constitution: June 11, 1991.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state) prime minister (head of government). Legislative--one chamber. Judiciary--independent.
Subdivisions: 13 regions, 45 provinces, 350 departments.
Political parties: Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), Alliance for Democracy Federation/ African Democratic Assembly (ADF/RDA), Party for Democracy and Progress/Socialist Party (PDP/PS), National Union for Democracy and Development (UNDD), and numerous other small opposition parties.
Suffrage: Direct universal.
Central government budget (2004): $540 million.
Defense: 5.5% of government budget.

Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments
Date of Information: 9/26/2008

Pres.	Blaise COMPAORE
Prime Min.	Tertius ZONGO
Min. in Charge of Presidential Missions, Analysis, & Prospective	Gueda OUEDRAGO
Min. of Agriculture, Water, & Fisheries	Laurent SEDOGO
Min. of Animal Resources	Sekou BA
Min. of Basic Education & Literacy	Marie Odile BONKOUNGOU-BALIMA
Min. of Civil Service & State Reform	Soungalo OUATTARA
Min. of Culture, Tourism, & Communication	Filippe SAWADOGO
Min. of Defense	Yero BOLY
Min. of Economy & Finance	Lucien Marie Noel BEMBAMBA
Min. of Employment & Youth	Justin KOUTABA
Min. of Environment & Standard of Living	Salifou SAWADOGO
Min. of Foreign Affairs & Regional Cooperation	Bedouma Alain YODA
Min. of Health	Seydou BOUDA
Min. of Housing & Urbanization	Vincent DABILOUGOU
Min. of Human Rights Promotion	Salamata SAWADOGO-TAPSOBA
Min. of Infrastructure & Improvement of Landlocked Situation	Seydou KABORE
Min. of Justice & Keeper of the Seal	Zakalia KOTE
Min. of Labor & Social Security	Jerome BOUGOUMA
Min. of Mines & Energy	Abdoulaye Abdoulkader CISSE
Min. of Parliamentary Relations	Cecile BELOUM
Min. of Post & Telecommunications	Noel KABORE
Min. of Secondary & Higher Education & Scientific Research	Joseph PARE
Min. of Security	Emile OUEDRAOGO
Min. of Social Action & National Solidarity	Pascaline TAMINI-BIHOUN
Min. of Sports & Leisure	Jean Pierre A. M. PALM
Min. of Territorial Admin. & Decentralization	Clement SAWADOGO
Min. of Trade, Promotion of Enterprise, & Handicraft	Mamadou SANOU
Min. of Transportation	Gilbert Noel OUEDRAOGO
Min. of Women's Affairs	Celine M. YODA-KONKOBO
Min.-Del. in Charge of Agriculture	Abdoulaye COMBARY
Min.-Del. in Charge of Budget	Marie Therese DRABO-KEITA
Min.-Del. in Charge of Local Collectives	Toussaint Abel COULIBALY
Min.-Del. in Charge of Mass Literacy & Nonformal Education	Oussemi TAMBOURA
Min.-Del. in Charge of Regional Cooperation	Minata SAMATE-CESSOUMA
Min.-Del. in Charge of Technical Education & Vocational Training	Maxime SOME
Ambassador to the US	Paramanga Ernest YONLI
Permanent Representative to the UN, New York	Michel KAFANDO