Burkina Faso’s president, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has declared that his country is not operating under a democratic system but is undergoing what he described as a “popular, progressive revolution.”

Speaking during a flag-raising ceremony at the Koulouba Palace recently, Traoré challenged the widely held belief that democracy is necessary for development, arguing that no country has advanced through democratic rule.

“If we have to say it loud and clear here, we are not in a democracy, we are in a popular, progressive revolution,” he said.

“We must necessarily go through a revolution, and we are indeed in a revolution. So this question of democracy or libertinism of action or expression has no place. As much as you think you are free to speak and act, the other is also free to speak and act, and there we end up with a society of disorder.”

Traoré went further to describe as “false” the idea that any nation has achieved development through democratic governance.

“It is impossible to name a country that has developed in democracy. Democracy is only the result,” Burkina24 quoted him.

He said his administration would continue to educate citizens on the meaning and purpose of the revolution underway in the West African country. (Nigerian Tribune)