Burkina Faso: Opposition Cries Foul on Eve of Election

The highly contested presidential elections in Burkina Faso are facing challenges,with the most recent being claims of electoral fraud.

On the eve of the polls, Saturday 21 November, opposition candidate and leader of the Union for Progress and Change, Zephirin Diabre, claimed that President Roch Kabore is ready to commit “massive fraud” in order to secure another term.

As the incumbent, President Kabore is looking to get a second five-year term since he was first elected in 2015, but faces competition from 13 challengers.

Diabre claims that he holds proof of rigged voting in the form of a video showing ruling party agents paying voters to hand over their cards so that someone else can vote on their behalf.

The 61-year-old former finance minister told a news conference on the same day that his party would file a complaint with the state prosecutor.

He said: “The massive nature of the phenomenon may undermine the serenity and integrity of the results of the November 22 elections.”

President Kabore’s party labelled the allegations as “false”.

Electoral commission representatives have yet to comment on the claims.