By Ouedraogo Boukary
OUAGADOUGOU
Burkina Faso's interim president, Michel Kafando, has named Lt. Col. Isaac Zida as prime minister, a senior Burkinabe official said Wednesday.
The appointment was announced in a statement issued by Deputy Cabinet Secretary Alain Ouattara, only one day after Kafando was sworn in as interim president.
Zida, who had been second-in-command in ousted president Blaise Compaore's presidential guard, was appointed new interim leader by the army after Compaore's departure late last month following mass protests.
The appointment, however, has drawn the ire of the country's opposition, which has stressed that Compaore left office as the result of popular pressure rather than a military coup.
Earlier this week, the army handed over power to a civilian-led transitional administration following pressure from the African Union.
Kafando, a former foreign minister, was chosen by a committee of 23 officials – most of whom are civilians – from among three nominees for the post.
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