BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF BURKINA FASO

LANDMARKS

On June 2, 1991, a new era has started in Burkina Faso with the referendum by which the people adopted the Constitution of the Fourth Republic. Since then, four successive legislatures followed one another.

The first elections were held May 24, 1992, the second on May 11, 1997, the third May 5, 2002, and the fourth, which founded this Legislature, on May 6, 2007.

The Burkina parliament consists of a single chamber called “National Assembly” in the words of the Constitutional Law No. 2002-001/AN of January 22, 2002.

Under Law No. 014-2001/AN of July 3, 2001 on the Electoral Code (amended by Acts No. 002-2002/AN of January 23, 2002, No. 013-2004/AN of April 27 2004, No. 024-2005/AN of May 25, 2005, No. 002-2006/AN of February 27, 2006, No. 019- 2009/AN of May 7, 2009), the National Assembly has 111 seats, i.e. 15 seats on the national list and 96 seats on provincial lists.

Deputies are elected by direct universal, equal and secret suffrage for a term of 5 years. The National Assembly convenes by right each year for two ordinary sessions of 90 days each.

The first session begins on the first Wednesday of March, and the second on the last Wednesday of September.

The National Assembly may meet for an extraordinary session on a specific agenda convened by the Speaker, or on the request of the Prime Minister or the absolute majority of MPs.

PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS

Members of Parliament may form groups according to political affinities. A group gets administrative recognition when it gathers a minimum of 10 MPs. There are presently four parliamentary groups in the National Assembly:

The CDP (Congress for Democracy and Progress) Parliamentary Group, which has 73 MPs from the CDP party;

The ADF / RDA (Alliance for Democracy and Federation / African Democratic Rally) Parliamentary Group, which has 14 MPs from that party;

The CFR (Convention of Republican Forces) Parliamentary Group, which has 12 members from the following political parties: UPR (05), CFD / B (03), RDB (02), PAI (01) RPC (01).

One (01) MP from PAREN (Party for National Revival) is not associated with any group.

ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

The Bureau, the Conference of Presidents, the General Committees and the Parliamentary Groups are the main organs of the Assembly; they are an integral part of the organization and contribute to its operation.

The Bureau

The President of the National Assembly chairs the Bureau, the governing body of the National Assembly. He is elected at the beginning of the legislature for a term of 5 years. The Bureau also includes five vice-presidents, two quaestors and eight parliamentary secretaries. They are elected for a term of one year renewable. The Bureau has full authority to organize and manage the departments of the National Assembly.

The General Committees

In the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, there are five General Committees of twenty members each:

The Finance and Budget Committee (COMFIB): public finance, budget, currency, credit, fields;

The Economic Development and Environment Committee (CODE): industry, handicrafts, mining, energy, trade, environment, hunting, forestry, fisheries, hydropower, agriculture, animal husbandry, tourism, public works, town planning, housing, communications, transport;

The Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee (ACCD): international relations, foreign policy, cooperation, treaties and international agreements, general organization of defence and security, military cooperation policy, long-term plans for the Army, military facilities and arsenals, military issues, national service and recruitment laws, civilian and military personnel in the Army, gendarmerie, and military justice; The General, Institutional Affairs and Human Rights Committee (DH-CAGI): the Constitution, general rules, immunity, human rights, law, justice, home affairs, information, requests for waiver of immunity made by the prosecution or by individuals against members of the National Assembly, motions by Members to require the suspension of prosecution against one of their colleagues or the suspension of detention, as defined in Article 78 of the Rules of the Assembly;

The Assembly may establish temporary special committees for a specific purpose. The general committees may set up sub-committees for very specific tasks; these sub-committees shall report to their respective committees.

PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION

In terms of international parliamentary cooperation, friendship groups have been established between the National Assembly and its counterparts in several countries in Africa, Europe, America and Asia. The opening ceremonies of regular parliamentary sessions provide opportunities for exchanges between parliamentarians of Burkina Faso and their counterparts in many African countries invited on these occasions. The National Assembly is member of the following international parliamentary institutions or regional parliaments: The African Parliamentary Union (APU) Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), The African-Caribbean-Pacific/European Union Joint Parliamen- tary Assembly (ACP-EU JPA) Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF) Pan African Parliament, The Conference of West Africa National Assembly Presidents (CAM) The Inter-Parliamentary Committee of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (IPC / WAEMU) The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), The Parliamentary Union of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Member States (PUOICM).

THE PARLIAMENTARY PUBLIC SERVICE

On May 7, 2009, the National Assembly adopted Law No. 020-2009/AN on the institution of the Parliamentary Public Service to contribute to the administrative autonomy of Parliament.

The main objective of this law is to establish a public service within the Parliament of Burkina Faso like in government services, and provide laws governing workers in the judiciary, in local governments, or civil servants. Thus, the adopted law secures the jobs of the personnel in the National Assembly and integrates them into the civil service.

LEGISLATIVE POWERS

The role of the National Assembly is central and its functions are essential for the functioning of the State, the establishment and consolidation of the rule of law, and for democracy in the organi -zation of powers in Burkina Faso.

The main functions of the National Assembly are as follows: Under Article 80 of the Constitution, “Members are elected by direct, equal and secret universal suffrage. They exercise legislative power”. Therefore, the Inter- Parliamentary Union recognizes MPs as members of assemblies that pass laws and control the executive.

The first function of the National Assembly is to pass laws that govern political, economic, social and cultural development. It lays down the rules which govern society in Burkina Faso.

The importance of the legislative lies in the fact that the Constitution devotes wideranging powers to it.

FINANCIAL POWERS

The financial powers of the National Assembly embrace the legislative function, the control of the government’s action and the decision-making function.

Each year, after three months of debate, the Assembly adopts the budget for the coming year.

The financial powers of the Assembly are set by the Constitution in Article 84 which stipulates that the National Assembly agrees the tax. Thus, it allocates resources to the Government for its functioning and for the implementation of development programmes. Each year the National Assembly approves the budgets of institutions, ministries and government services. At the end of the chain, the National Assembly also controls the use of public funds each year through the voting of payment laws. It is assisted in this task by the Court of Auditors (Article 105 of the Constitution).

CONTROL OF THE EXECUTIVE

The control of the Executive is one of the two essential criteria in defining any parliamentary assembly. True democracy and the rule of law require that the power of the body that governs the country is controlled. This control role is devolved to the National Assembly. Control is done through information, or through decisions taken by the Assembly.

Government control is essentially political. The Government explains and defends its policy before the National Assembly. To this end, each year at the opening of the first session, “the Prime Minister directly presents the state of the nation to the Members of Parliament” (Article 109 of the Constitution). The presentation is followed by discussion, but is not sanctioned by a vote.

More comprehensively, according to the Constitution, the Government presents and defends “government policy, the budget, plans for economic and social development of the nation” before the National Assembly (Article 112 of the Constitution). The Government is “obliged to provide the Assembly with explanations on its management and actions”(Article 113). So, regularly, ministers are interpellated by deputies to explain sector policies before a committee or the plenary meeting. As to the Prime Minister, he is interpellated on specific issues or on the overall policy of the Government.

Government access to the National Assembly is primarily intended to enable them to defend their policy. That’s why each week at least one plenary session of the Assembly is devoted to questions from MPs and answers from the Government. Questions can be written or oral, with or without debate, or topical.

When it finds it necessary, the Assembly can create a parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on a specific problem or situation. The commission of inquiry has ten members. It makes the necessary investigations and submits its report to the President of the National Assembly within three months. It is then transmitted to the Government. The report may be published after a decision of the Assembly that deliberates behind closed doors, following the proposal of its President or the Commission of Inquiry.

The control that the National Assembly exercises on the executive can go much further and take several forms.

The Assembly may pass a vote of non-confidence in the Government. To do this, one third of The Members present a motion of non-confidence against the Government; if the majority of the deputies adopt it, the Prime Minister and his Government are obliged to resign. But if the motion of non-confidence is rejected, its signatories can not submit another motion within one year.

As to the Prime Minister, he can check whether he still has the confidence of the MPs. In this case, after deliberations in the Cabinet, he engages the Government’s responsibility and poses the question of confidence, either about a programme or a policy statement. Confidence is denied if he fails to obtain an absolute majority of MP votes. In this case, the President of Burkina Faso dismisses the Prime Minister and his Government within eight days. The National Assembly may also refuse, with an absolute majority, to vote a bill for which the Prime Minister engages the Government’s responsibility. In this case, the Prime Minister must resign.

As part of its legislative powers, the National Assembly can discuss and pass a bill if two months after sending the bill to the Government they do not react with amendments.

Finally, the Government can not declare war on another State without the authorization of the National Assembly. The same goes for sending troops abroad. Government control is carried out daily by the general committees.

Because it represents the citizens, the National Assembly may, under Article 30 of the Constitution, receive petitions from any Burkina national. The petition, signed by at least fifteen thousand citizens, is addressed to the President of the National Assembly and may be about acts injurious to public property or the interests of social communities. It may also concern damage to the environment or the cultural and historical heritage of Burkina Faso. Petitions are handled by the general committees of the Assembly. However, as appropriate, the relevant committee may send them to the Ombudsman of Burkina Faso or to the Government.

POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL POWERS

The National Assembly is, with the Government, one of the two major institutions of Burkina Faso, due to its political weight and the role it plays in national life. Most of its powers in this area are related to the status and the role of its President who can become the Acting President of Burkina Faso. Other political powers of the President of the Assembly concern the role he plays in certain particularly important appointments or in making crucial decisions. Thus, in case of the occurrence of exceptional circumstances that present a serious and imminent threat to the “institutions of Burkina Faso, the country’s independence, territorial integrity, the implementation of international commitments”, or when the constitutional government can not function, the President of Burkina Faso, before taking “the steps required by the circumstances” and after deliberation by the Council of Ministers, shall consult the President of the National Assembly. Moreover, the President of the National Assembly appoints three of the nine judges of the Constitutional Council, the other six being appointed by the President of Burkina Faso including three on the proposal of the Minister of Justice. In addition, the President of the National Assembly has the power to refer to the Constitutional Council to verify the constitutionality of a law. Before appointing the Ombudsman of Burkina Faso, the head of State consults the President of the National Assembly, among others.

Parliament may, by a majority vote, initiate the revision of the Constitution. It elects the President of the High Court of Justice, the competent court for acts committed by the President of Burkina Faso during his mandate.

THE YOUTH PARLIAMENT OF BURKINA FASO

On July 30, 2009, the President of the National Assembly, Roch Marc Christian, officially installed the Youth Parliament of Burkina Faso

What is the Youth Parliament of Burkina Faso?

The creation of national youth parliaments is an initiative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF).

This project is twofold: strengthening youth parliaments in member sections, and encouraging the creation of such bodies in sections where they do not exist.

Recognizing the important role of young citizens, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie considers youth participation in political life as crucial. It sees this participation as essential to the progress of civil society and democracy, both nationally and internationally.

Objectives of the Youth Parliament of Burkina Faso

The objectives of the Youth Parliament include: Creating a framework for dialogue and exchanges for young people;

The development of civic education by introducing young people to parliamentary work; The involvement of the youth in the implementation of any national or international law concerning young people, as well as in the implementation of the Convention for the Eradication of Violence Against Women; Promoting the rights of children and the young.

Composition of the Youth Parliament of Burkina Faso

The YPBF is composed of 96 young Burkina nationals aged 17 to 25 and from all 45 provinces of the country, shared out as follows: 6 representatives for the Kadiogo province; 4 representatives for the Houet province; 2 representatives per province for the other 43 provinces.