Vote count has started in Burkina Faso after Sunday's presidential and legislative elections held against the background of a tense security sitaution.
Vote count underway in Burkina Faso
Polling unit, Ouagadougou
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President Roch Christian Kabore is projected to be re-elected but the opposition which includes 12 other presidential candidates including one woman are hoping to sack him from office. And indeed so for many reasons.
Insecurity, caused by frequent jihadist attacks and operations in the Sahel region spread into Burkina Faso and defined the first term of President Roch Kabore, who is now seeking another five years in power. In five years, terrorist attacks killed more than 1,600 people and displaced more than 1 million people from their homes due to violence in the west African country. Opposition candidates accuse Kabore of not doing much to stem the bloodshed.
On Sunday, much of the nation voted under the looming threat of jihadist violence. According to the Central Election Commission, about 7% of the electorate were unable to vote for fear of violence in the north and east of the country. Nearly 1,500 of the country's 8,000 villages did not participate.
But for opposition candidates Zephirin Diabre a former finance minister from the Progress and Change Party, and Eddie Komboigo, chairman of the Congress for Democracy and Progress party of former president Blaise Compaore, who was overthrown by a popular uprising in 2014, the elections were flawed.
On Sunday, they both claimed that the election had been marred by fraud and said they planned to file a complaint on Monday. "We are Republicans. Any result that is sincere, we will accept it and go cheer and congratulate the winner. And we expect that if we are the winners, the MPP and its candidate will come and congratulate us. We will not accept to go and endorse a masquerade and results that would be tainted by fraud and illegality." Diabre told newsmen in Ouagoudougou. In order to avoid a second round run-off, a candidate must win 51 percent of the votes cast.
Results are expected later in the week.