At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Burkina Faso

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Blaise COMPAORE
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Ernest Paramanga YONLI
• Assembly: Burkina Faso has a unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) with 111 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) 111 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Blaise COMPAORE
  • Party: Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP)
• Bénéwendé Stanislas SANKARA
  • Party: Unionb for Rebirth / Sankarist Movement / (UNIR / MS)
• Laurent BADO
  • Party: Party for National Rebirth / (PAREN)
• Philippe OUEDRAOGO
  • Party: Party for Social Democracy / (PDS)
• Ram OUEDRAOGO
  • Party: Rally of the Ecologists of Burkina (RDEB) / Rassemblement des Eologistes du Burkina
• Ali LANKOANDE
  • Party: Party for Democracy and Progress / PDP/PS
• Norbert Michel TIENDREBEOGO
  • Party: Front of Social Forces / Front des forces sociales (FFS)
• Soumane TOURE
  • Party: African Independence Party / Parti Africain de l'Indépendance (PAI)
• Gilbert BOUDA
  • Party: Parti burkinabe pour la refondation (PBR)
• Pargui Emile PARE
  • Party: Socialist Alliance / Alliance socialiste (AS)
• Hermann YAMEOGO
  • Party: National Union for Democracy and Development (UNDD)
• Toubè Clément DAKIO
  • Party: Independent Candidate
• Nayabtigungu Congo KABORE
  • Party: Movement for Tolerance and Progress / Mouvement pour la Tolérance et le Progrès (MTP)

Last Presidential election:

• Presidential elections were last held on November 15, 1998. Blaise COMPAORE was reelected president with 87.5% percent of the vote.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 13,925,313 (July 2005 est.)
• Registered Voters: 3,924,328 (November 2005 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 6,799,930 (2005)

·         Is Burkina Faso a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Burkina Faso ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (14 October 1987)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 13 (following the 2002 parliamentary elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 183 (2014) 

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Burkina Faso a signatory to CRPD: Yes (23 May 2007)

·         Has Burkina Faso ratified CRPD: Yes (23 July 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 2,088,796 (est.)