OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The president of Burkina Faso stepped down Friday after protesters stormed parliament and set the building ablaze, ending the 27-year reign of one of Africa’s longest-serving rulers who had survived previous attempts to topple him.
An army general stepped into the vacuum left by departing President Blaise Compaore.
Gen. Honore Traore, the joint chief of staff, told a packed room of reporters that he would assume the presidency until elections were called.
It was not clear whether the military was unified behind Traore or whether he had the support of the opposition. Army spokesman Col. Yacouba Zida said the constitution had been suspended and a transitional government formed to organize elections. He made no mention of Traore.
When he resigned, Compaore said a vote would be held in 90 days, but Zida said the “length and makeup of the transitional body will be decided later.”
Over the course of several dramatic hours, Compaore went from looking likely to jam through parliament a bill that would let him seek a fifth term to agreeing to step down next year to abandoning office immediately.
The quick succession of events took many by surprise. Compaore had long out-maneuvered his adversaries and has in recent years become an important regional mediator. Burkina Faso hosts French special forces and serves as an important ally of both France and the U.S. in the fight against Islamic militants in West Africa.
But French President Francois Hollande was quick to “salute” his decision to resign.
While he was respected on the international stage, critics noted that, under Compaore’s semi-authoritarian rule, the country of 18 million people remained mired in poverty.
Compaore’s exit will have significance throughout the region, where many leaders have pushed through constitutional changes to prolong their rule and others are attempting to, said Africa expert Philippe Hugon.
“It’s obvious that what happened will have an echo in other countries,” said Hugon, of the Institute for Strategic and International Relations.
