What is the capital of Burkina Faso?
Country Name | Burkina Faso |
Full Country Name | None |
Local - Long | None |
Local - Short | Burkina Faso |
Former Name | Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta |
Etymology- history of name | The name translates as "Land of the Honest (Incorruptible) Men" |
Government Type | Presidential republic |
Capital Name | Ouagadougou |
Capital - geographic coordinate | 12 22 N, 1 31 W |
Capital Time Difference | UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
Independence | 5 August 1960 (from France) |
National Holiday | Republic Day, 11 December (1958); note - commemorates the day that Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community |
Constitution |
History: several previous; latest approved by referendum 2 June 1991, adopted 11 June 1991, temporarily suspended late October to mid-November 2014 Amendments: proposed by the president, by a majority of National Assembly membership, or by petition of at least 30,000 eligible voters submitted to the Assembly; passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote in the Assembly; failure to meet that threshold requires majority voter approval in a referendum; constitutional provisions on the form of government, the multiparty system, and national sovereignty cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2012 |
Who is the president of Burkina Faso?
Executive Branch: |
Chief of State: President Roch Marc Christian KABORE (since 29 December 2015) Head of Government: Prime Minister Christophe DABIRE (since 24 January 2019) Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister Elections/Appointments: president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second); election last held on 29 November 2015 (next to be held November 2020); prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly Election Results: Roch Marc Christian KABORE elected president in the first round; percent of the vote - Roch Marc Christian KABORE (MPP) 53.5%, Zephirin DIABRE (UPC) 29.6%, Tahirou BARRY (PAREN) 3.1%, Benewende Stanislas SANKARA (UNIR-MS) 2.8%, other 10.9% |
Citizenship Criteria: |
Citizenship by Birth: no Citizenship by Descent Only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Burkina Faso Dual Citizenship Recognized: yes Residency Requirement for Naturalization: 10 years |
Legal System: | Civil law based on the French model and customary law |
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
Legislative Branch: |
Description: unicameral National Assembly (127 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms) Elections: last held on 29 November 2015 (next to be held in November 2020) Election Results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MPP 55, UPC 33, CDP 18, Union for Rebirth-Sankarist Party 5, ADF/RDA 3, NTD 3, other 10; composition - men 115, women 12, percent of women 9.4% |
Judicial Branch: |
Highest Court(s): Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (consists of NA judges); Council of State (consists of NA judges); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (consists of the council president and 9 members) Judge Selection and Term of Office: Supreme Court judge appointments are mostly controlled by the president of Burkina Faso; judges have no term limits; Council of State judge appointment and tenure NA; Constitutional Council judges are appointed by the president of Burkina Faso upon the proposal of the minister of justice and the president of the National Assembly; judges appointed for 9-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 3 years Subordinate Courts: Appeals Court; High Court; first instance tribunals; district courts; specialized courts relating to issues of labor, children, and juveniles; village (customary) courts |
Regions or States: | 13 regions; Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades, Centre, Centre-Est, Centre-Nord, Centre-Ouest, Centre-Sud, Est, Hauts-Bassins, Nord, Plateau-Central, Sahel, Sud-Ouest |
Political Parties and Leaders: |
African Democratic Rally/Alliance for Democracy and Federation or ADF/RDA [Gilbert Noel OUEDRAOGO] African People’s Movement or MAP [Victorien TOUGOUMA] Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Achille TAPSOBA] Le Faso Autrement [Ablasse OUEDRAOGO] New Alliance of the Faso or NAFA [Rasmane OUEDRAOGO] New Time for Democracy or NTD [Vincent DABILGOU] Organization for Democracy and Work or ODT [Mahamoudou SAWADOGO] Party for Development and Change or PDC [Saran SEREME] Party for Democracy and Progress-Socialist Party or PDP-PS [Francois O. KABORE] Party for Democracy and Socialism/Metba or PDS/Metba [Philippe OUEDRAOGO] Party for National Renaissance or PAREN [Tahirou BARRY] People's Movement for Progress or MPP [Roch March Christian KABORE] Rally for Democracy and Socialism or RDS [Francois OUEDRAOGO] Rally for the Development of Burkina or RDB [Celestin Saidou COMPAORE] Rally of Ecologists of Burkina Faso or RDEB [Adama SERE] Union for a New Burkina or UBN [Yacouba OUEDRAOGO] Union for Progress and Change or UPC [Zephirin DIABRE] Union for Rebirth - Sankarist Movement or UNIR-MS [Benewende Stanislas SANKARA] Union for the Republic or UPR [Toussaint Abel COULIBALY] Youth Alliance for the Republic and Independence or AJIR [Adama KANAZOE] |
International Law Organization Participation: | Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
International Organization Participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Diplomatic Representation in the US: |
Chief of Mission: Ambassador Seydou KABORE (since 18 January 2017) Chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 Telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882 |
Diplomatic Representation from US: |
Chief of Mission: Ambassador Andrew YOUNG (since 1 December 2016) Embassy: Rue 15.873, Avenue Sembene Ousmane, Ouaga 2000, Secteur 15 Mailing Address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01; pouch mail - US Department of State, 2440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC 20521-2440 Telephone: [226] 25-49-53-00 FAX: [226] 25-49-56-28 |