Burkinabe parliamentary election, 2012

Parliamentary elections were held in Burkina Faso on 2 December 2012. They were the first elections held since the National Assembly dissolved the National Electoral Commission in 2011, following fraud allegations concerning the 2010 presidential elections. Municipal elections for over 18,000 councillors were held simultaneously. The elections were held amidst a period of political uncertainty, following protests against President Blaise Compaore's regime.

The result was a victory for the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), which won 70 of the 127 seats in the National Assembly.

The 2010 presidential elections were criticized by opposition leaders and independent observers for various missteps in democratic practice. Reported issues included the inappropriate influence of traditional leaders, ballot and voting card shortages at polling stations, inaccurate electoral lists and a misappropriation of resources by the state for Compaore's re-election campaign.

The 127 members of the National Assembly were elected for five-year terms, of which 111 were elected in 45 multi-member constituencies ranging in size from two to nine seats, with the remaining 16 elected in a single nationwide constituency. The elections were conducted using closed list proportional representation. Individual candidates won seats based on their position on the party list, the order of which was decided by each party’s leadership.

Opposition parties criticized the government's inability to reliably determine voter eligibility. In response, the government created a biometric voter identification system, and the National Assembly dissolved the existent Electoral Commission. Pryce and Nascimento noted that these steps, along with government campaigns to encourage women's involvement in politics, mark a movement towards sounder political practices in Burkina Faso.

Around 3,000 candidates ran in the 45 provincial constituencies, with 74 parties and electoral alliances competed for the 16 national seats.

The CDP was supported by the Alliance for Democracy and Federation – African Democratic Rally, which was still considered an opposition party. The Union for Progress and Change (UPC), formed by a CDP defector, gained attention as a possible challenger to the CDP prior to the election as it protested he party's attempts to lengthen President Compaore’s term via a constitutional amendment that aimed to remove presidential term limits.

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