The only woman running for the presidency of Burkina Faso says: ‘I will win’

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – Monique Yéli Kam’s war room is not the typical campaign headquarters of a national presidential candidate. A dusty white marquis stands next to stacked blue chairs that fan out onto a balcony that leads to a room where teens rush to play a soccer video game. Upstairs from her apartment, PassBlue spoke with Kam, a businessman-turned-politician who is the only woman running against 12 men in Burkina Faso’s presidential elections scheduled for November 22.

After visiting 12 villages in two days and accompanied by armed escorts to protect her from possible attacks by armed groups, Kam, a 47-year-old mother of five with a master’s degree in marketing, takes off her shoes and pauses her schedule that starts at 4 am and ends at midnight. He spoke with PassBlue in Ouagadougou, the capital, on November 18 about the security crisis in Burkina Faso, a Sahelian West African country facing deadly attacks by jihadists; the role of women in African politics in general; and the need for Burkina Faso leaders to come to the table and talk about peace.

The French-speaking country of nearly 20 million people last held a presidential election in 2015, a year after a popular coup forced then-president Blaise Compaoré to resign and flee to neighboring Ivory Coast, after serving 27 years as the leader of Burkina. . In November 2015, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré won the presidency in a packed field that included two female candidates. He took office a month later for a period of five years. This year’s elections will take place amid continued volatility, and around 417,000 people from 22 municipalities have not been able to register to vote due to displacement and insecurity.

The interview, conducted in French, has been edited and summarized.

PassBlue: What is it like to be the only female candidate in Burkina Faso’s presidential elections this year?

Wine: It is difficult but women have to participate. Can you imagine an election without women? Voters are mostly women and youth, and if a woman did not run, she would not be respectable for our country. It is necessary to have at least one woman in these elections. Before deciding to run, I was a member of different political parties for about 10 years, but I couldn’t really move up the chain.

PassBlue: How would you describe the state of Burkina Faso right now?

Wine: No citizen should be indifferent to our current situation. The state of our country is disastrous, economically and socially. We see high levels of youth unemployment and there is constant insecurity. There is also the problem of access to health care, water and quality education, and even adults do not have a secure job. The government’s promise to develop the country has not paid off and the daily lives of citizens have not changed. The people are poor, that’s why there are strikes, marches and insecurity. The underlying causes of insecurity in the worst affected regions are poverty.

PassBlue: With Burkina Faso’s continued insecurity and history of military rule under former President Compaoré, do you think being a woman works against you?

Wine: The security crisis is having a great human cost: there are displaced people, children who do not go to school and widows. Women are more sensitive to these kinds of difficulties and today my candidacy would offer an opportunity for a woman to bring peace. Look at [former president] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia and [former president] Catherine Samba-Panza in the Central African Republic. Every time our states have faced a crisis, particularly in Africa, a woman has found a solution. In African countries that have faced crisis, and even in the United States, the candidacy of a woman has brought hope. We hope that what happened in these countries is possible in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso men do not want to compete with women; that is why they are trying to suppress them. In our tradition, they don’t want women to challenge them. If a woman comes to power, the conflict will end. The people in power went to school together and have the same origin as those who ruled in the past. The country needs someone who is neutral, and I am that person. I am a new class that will carry the hope of this country and bring peace.

PassBlue: Did you follow the results of the US presidential elections this month? What do you think about it?

Wine: Donald Trump was seeking a second term, like most presidents. He ended his term without achieving results, but at the same time there was economic progress, but the people elected Joe Biden. It shows us that power belongs to the people, and people will give that power to a person who they believe can bring change. There is also the vice president-elect, who is a woman [Kamala Harris]. The American people have accepted leadership and trusted a black woman. This same historic change can happen here in Burkina Faso: a woman can become head of state.

PassBlue: Are people happy to see a candidate in Burkina Faso, or are they shocked?

Wine: In general, they respond well. The women are enthusiastic and mobilized, and the men also come to welcome us with words of encouragement. People have recognized the need for change and have promised to vote for us. Sometimes there are older people, the Popes, who refuse to accept candidates and say that a woman could not become head of state. There are people who believe that if a woman leads, it means that men have failed or that men have not taken good care of the house. And I ask them to look around, the unemployment, the insecurity, and they tell me that it is true but they ask: “We know there is a problem, but you woman, can you change it?

PassBlue: Do you think you can win the presidency?

Wine: Yes. I am running in this election to win.

PassBlue: Have you told President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who is also running, this?

Wine: I know I’m going to win. I say: “Women will take power” every day during the campaign. Women have power and this year we have decided to take it away from men.

The problem that I dislike is that 15 communes [muncipalities] you will not be able to vote. These communes are the most affected by insecurity and are the ones that most need to vote. They are the communes where people have been displaced, the number of victims is high and schools are closed. The elections would give them the possibility to decide who is going to solve these problems, and these are the communes that are going to be excluded. Our party will fight for peace, and my mandate will emphasize peace and we will defend peace.

PassBlue: How are you and your party, Mouvement pour le Renaissance du Burkina Faso (Burkina Faso Renaissance Movement), going to fight for peace?

Wine: To promote peace, we have two strategies. The first strategy will be to equip the soldiers with more equipment and train the FDS. [French acronym for Burkina Faso’s security forces] to better defend themselves, to be successful on the front lines. And secondly, there is a deeper solution that will come through the education of citizens, the generation of wealth and the establishment of factories in the worst affected regions. We will strengthen security so that the displaced can return and schools can reopen.

We will negotiate peace by creating a room of sages. In this room, there will be 130 members: traditional and religious leaders and former heads of state. They will work in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense to initiate dialogue, to find out who is attacking us and why they are attacking us. No war can end without dialogue. We have had time to fight, now we have to negotiate and dialogue. We have to keep in mind that the integrity of our country is great and we will not give a small portion of it.

PassBlue: Are you open to negotiations with armed groups?

Wine: Obviously.

PassBlue: Are you concerned about the November 22 elections and the legitimacy of the result?

Wine: Today in Burkina Faso there is freedom of expression, it is not possible for them to steal the vote. It will be very difficult if someone tries. For Burkinabés, there is freedom of expression, we have certain freedoms and violence and brutality will not work. Look at the number of candidates, the elections will be competitive. We believe that the results will have integrity.

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