Who Is Lt. Sangoule Lamizana's Suffrage

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August 5, 1960 marked the day that Burkina Faso, then French Upper Volta, gained full independence from its former governing power, France. The first president of this newly independent state was Maurice Yameogo, who was the leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (Political Handbook of the World 2012). Under his supervision, a constitution was drafted, which stated that presidential elections were to be conducted by means of universal suffrage. Although the constitution laid the framework for a fair and balanced democratic government, Yameogo banned all other political parties other than his own, which was not well perceived by the public. He was also unable to resolve conflicts dealing with “student and labor dissatisfaction”, which ultimately led to the downfall of his presidency (Political Handbook of the World 2012). His regime lasted only a mere six years before large public strikes and demonstrations …show more content…

The military intervened and dismantled his regime, which led to Lt. Col. Sangoule Lamizana becoming the temporary head of state. Lamizana remained in power for the remainder of the 1960’s and all of the 1970’s. He was eventually succeeded by Col. Saye Zerbo on November 25 1980 in what is called the “Bloodless Coup” (Political Handbook of the World 2012). Lamizana and other top government officials were arrested, and the previous constitution was dismantled and all political activity was halted. After only two short years, another coup attempt took place that placed Maj. Jean_Baptiste Ouedraogo as the head of the People’s Salvation Council. This coup attempt also failed very shortly after on August 4, 1983. Thomas Sankara asserted the formation of the National Revolutionary Council, which led to the renaming of the country to what is now known as Burkina Faso, meaning “democratic and republican land of upright men” (Political Handbook of

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