Upper Voltan presidential election, 1978
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Burkina Faso |
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Parliament |
Presidential elections were held in the Republic of Upper Volta on 14 May 1978, with a second round on 28 May after no candidate won more than 50% in the first round. They were the country's first multi-party presidential elections, the previous elections in 1965 having Maurice Yaméogo as the sole candidate. The result was a victory for independent candidate Sangoulé Lamizana, who was backed by the Voltaic Democratic Union-African Democratic Rally and won 56.3% of votes in the second round.[1] Voter turnout was 35.2% in the first round and 43.6% in the second.[2]
Background
In 1966, Yaméogo left office after a general strike in opposition to his rule, and was replaced by a provisional military government led by Lamizana. In 1970, a new Constitution was ratified, which was later revised and ratified in 1977. After the passage of the new constitution in 1977, a presidential election was held in 1978.
Results
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Sangoulé Lamizana | Independent | 425,302 | 42.2 | 711,722 | 56.3 |
| Macaire Ouédraogo | National Union for the Defence of Democracy | 254,467 | 25.2 | 552,954 | 43.7 |
| Joseph Ouédraogo | Rejectors Front-African Democratic Rally | 167,120 | 16.6 | ||
| Joseph Ki-Zerbo | Voltaic Progressive Union | 162,031 | 16.1 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 19,695 | – | 18,870 | – | |
| Total | 1,028,653 | 100 | 1,283,546 | 100 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 2,924,785 | 35.2 | 2,947,527 | 43.6 | |
| Source: Nohlen et al. | |||||
References
- ↑ Elections in Burkina Faso African Elections Database
- ↑ Dieter Nohlen; Bernard Thibaut; Michael Krennerich (1999-07-22). Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-829645-4.
