By Lougri Dimtalba
OUAGADOUGO, Burkina Faso
Former Burkinabe foreign minister Michel Kafando has been appointed as Burkina Faso's interim president for one year, only before the expiry of a deadline set by the African Union to pressure the army into handing over power to a civilian body.
"We will not spare any effort to face challenges that taint the credibility of the country, which has seen terrible days," Kafando said in a speech on Monday following his appointment as interim president.
"We need to restore confidence and focus on the future," he added.
Kafando served as the country's representative to the United Nations from 1998 to 2011. He also held the post of foreign minister in the government of former president Saye Zerbo from 1980 to 1982.
He was picked up by a committee of 23 officials, the majority of which are civilians, among three candidates to the post. His competitors were former family minister Josephine Ouedraogo and journalist Cherif Sy.
Kafando is due to be sworn in on Friday in Ouagadougou.
Last month, Burkina Faso descended into chaos after then president Blaise Compaore proposed a constitutional amendment that would have allowed him to seek another term in office.
In power since 1987, Compaore was ultimately forced to step down amid massive street protests against the amendment proposal. He has since moved with his family to the Ivory Coast.
On November 1, the Burkinabe army named Isaac Zida, the second-in-command in Compaore's presidential guard, new interim president.
The appointment, however, drew the ire of the opposition, which asserted that Compaore had left office as the result of popular pressure rather than a military coup.
On November 3, the African Union gave Zida 15 days to relinquish power to a civilian body.
Additional reporting by Boucary Ouedraogo
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www.aa.com.tr/en
