On Sunday, Burkinabè will be called to the polls to elect both its new president and its new deputies. And even though there are only a few hours left before the ballot box opened, the capital Ouagadougou is keeping pace with recent preparations.
At the town hall in the 4th arrondissement of Ouagadougou, it is noisy this late afternoon this Saturday. There are people everywhere, in the alleys, on the lawns, gathered in small groups. The reason for all the essence: selection material. In fact, as in most town halls in the capital and the country, the teams responsible for holding polling stations on Sundays are collecting the ballot papers, ballot boxes and everything they need to ensure that the double voting works smoothly.
Dieudonné has been waiting since the beginning of the afternoon. “We still lack a booth,” explains the president of the district’s largest polling station. At his feet, exactly 617 well-packed votes for the presidential election and as many for the legislators. Votes that must then be counted after closing on Sunday evening. “In other words, tomorrow will be a long day,” he sighs.
This Saturday takes the same path. With the night already starting in Ouagadougou, Yacouba, another office manager, is a little disillusioned. He’s been there since 8 in the morning and his equipment comes in dribbles. On his check sheet there are still many boxes that are not marked. This is the first time he is trying to win the presidential election and he wants to do it seriously, even if it means spending a large part of the night there.
A safe escort
And once the material is well controlled, the work does not end there. Then everything must be sent to the polling station. This is what Mushira is doing. Her list is now complete, the young woman is waiting for her armed escort with her colleagues.
In fact, each team of officials must be accompanied by several security forces. A young woman in military fatigue sitting on a motorcycle is one of these mobilized soldiers for the security of the vote. He looks forward to taking up his post. Its mission will be to look all night at the valuable election material and especially at the still empty ballot boxes.
Once everything is installed, the election questions will take a few hours of sleep just to recharge the batteries. Appointment was made at six o’clock local time this Sunday to welcome the very first morning voters.
