The military officer who took power after the fall of Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore was on Wednesday named Prime Minister in the west African country’s Interim Government.
lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida’s appointment by interim President Michel Kafando comes with Burkina Faso under international pressure to see through a civilian transition.“The President of the transition decides that... Mr Yacouba Isaac Zida is named Prime Minister,” said a decree issued by Kafando and read out by a top Government official.
Kafando, a veteran diplomat, was sworn in as Burkina Faso’s interim president on Tuesday to oversee a year-long transition to civilian rule after the turbulent ouster of Compaore’s regime on October 31.
The appointment of 49-year-old Zida was agreed among between politicians and army leaders, according to a senior military officer. “It was on this understanding that we gave the post of president... To civilians,” the officer added.
Zida, then second-in-command of the presidential guard, was installed in a military power grab in the immediate aftermath of the uprising against longtime-leader Compaore.