Burkina Faso Appoints Lt. Col. Zida as Interim Prime Minister

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Burkina Faso's transitional government has appointed Lt. Col. Isaac Zida as Prime Minister on Wednesday, November 19, 2014, four days after he returned the executive authority to the state under the watchful eye and pressure from the African Union, as well as the Western countries.

Zida had declared himself as the Head of State on November 1, after mass protests that demanded President Blaise Compaore to step down from power erupted on the streets.

It is known that Compaore has since fled the West African nation.

Previously, the African Union stated that it will give Zida two weeks to return the all executive powers to a civilian government or face severe economic sanctions.

Zida, a spectacled man of a large stature that is easily identifiable by his trademark red beret, has promised to help Burkina Faso - who had just recently appointed Michel Kafando as interim President - to choose 25 members of the government which will be responsible of running the country until the elections, which is scheduled for 2015.

Both Kafando - who had held the title of Foreign Affairs Minister, as well as Burkina Faso's Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) - and Zida has been cleared to take part in next year's presidential elections.

Compaore had previously incited anger among Burkinabes when his government moved to amend the Burkinabe Constitution to allow him to extend his 27-year long rule over Burkina Faso.

Compaore was an influential power broker in the region, and he was an ally of the West in their fight against Islamist militants in the region - it is known that France has a special counter-terrorism unit that operates and is based within Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso is one of Africa's major cotton producer, and has recently enjoyed a boom in gold mining and trade.

ANTARANEWS