Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – Burkina Faso's military-led transitional government has formally dissolved all political parties and repealed the legal framework governing their operations, according to a decree approved by the Council of Ministers on Thursday, January 30, 2026.
The decision represents the most decisive step yet by the junta under Captain Ibrahim Traoré to eliminate organised political opposition and centralise authority following the September 2022 coup that ousted interim President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
Interior Minister Émile Zerbo, who announced the measure, described the dissolution as a necessary part of “rebuilding the state” after years of what he called widespread abuses, dysfunction, and division fostered by the multiparty system.
“The proliferation of political parties had become a source of division rather than unity,” Zerbo stated during a televised address following the cabinet meeting. “The review conducted by the government revealed that the current framework no longer served the interests of the Burkinabè people in this critical phase of national recovery.”
Prior to the 2022 coup, Burkina Faso had more than 100 registered political parties, with 15 represented in the National Assembly after the November 2020 general elections. The decree immediately disbands all parties, political formations, associations with political objectives, and related structures. A separate bill repealing the laws on political party operations, financing, and the status of the leader of the opposition will be submitted to the transitional legislative body (Conseil Législatif de Transition) for formal adoption.
All assets belonging to the dissolved parties — including bank accounts, offices, vehicles, and other property — are to be transferred to the state treasury.
The move follows the junta's suspension of political and partisan activities shortly after taking power in September 2022. Political parties had been effectively paralysed since then, with leaders barred from holding meetings, issuing statements in a partisan capacity, or organising rallies. The dissolution now makes that suspension permanent and removes any legal basis for political party activity.
Burkina Faso's transition timeline has been repeatedly extended. Originally set to end in July 2024, the handover to civilian rule was pushed back to July 2029 following a national consultation in May 2024, which the junta claimed showed popular support for continued military governance.
The country has been battling a jihadist insurgency linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates since 2015. The violence has killed tens of thousands, displaced over two million people (roughly 10% of the population), and left large parts of the north and east under non-state control. The military government has made the fight against terrorism its primary justification for remaining in power and for restricting political freedoms.
Thursday's decree comes amid intensified military operations in several regions and a continued diplomatic realignment away from traditional Western partners toward Russia and Turkey.
Human rights organisations and opposition figures in exile have condemned the dissolution as the final burial of democratic space in Burkina Faso. The African Union, ECOWAS, and several Western governments have previously criticised the junta's repeated delays to elections and crackdowns on dissent, though responses to the latest move have been muted so far.
The transitional government insists the measure is temporary and aimed at creating conditions for a more unified, efficient political system once stability is restored. No new date for elections or political party re-registration has been announced.
Burkina Faso's political landscape has now been reduced to a single authority — the military-led Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR) under Captain Traoré — with no legal avenue for organised political competition or opposition activity.
The decree takes immediate effect upon publication in the official gazette, expected in the coming days.
