Burkina Faso President Claims No Nation Has Achieved Development Through Democracy

Captain Ibrahim Traoré, interim leader of Burkina Faso, recently questioned the effectiveness of democracy in driving national development.

Speaking during a flag-raising ceremony at the Koulouba Palace, he argued that no country has genuinely achieved development because of democratic governance.

According to him, it’s misleading to claim that democracy is the key to progress, as there’s no clear example of any nation that developed solely due to democratic systems.

“If we have to say it loud and clear here, we are not in a democracy; we are in a popular, progressive revolution,” he declared.

“We must necessarily go through a revolution, and we are indeed in a revolution. So this question of democracy or libertinism of action or expression has no place. As much as you think you are free to speak and act, the other is also free to speak and act, and there we end up with a society of disorder.”

He added, “It is impossible to name a country that has developed in democracy. Democracy is only the result.”

Traoré, 37, assumed power after the September 2022 coup that ousted interim president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

Since taking office, he has branded his administration as a revolutionary government, deliberately steering away from Western governance models and advocating for a self-defined political path rooted in Burkina Faso’s unique context and needs.