New Leader Emerges in Burkina Faso After Historic Election

Roch Marc Christian Kabore is the newly elected Burkina Faso’s leader, and he also happens to be the second civilian to become the country’s president since the West African country won independence in 1960, according to preliminary results released by the country’s electoral commission. The Independent National Electoral Commission revealed that the election results showed that Kabore, from the Movement of People for Progress party, defeated other aspirants with 53.5 percent of the vote, which is just enough to secure a first round victory. The newly elected Kabore, 58, will now replace the transitional government put in place after Blaise Compaore, Burkina Faso’s longtime leader, was toppled in a popular uprising in October 2014.