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| - Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore was set Saturday to win his party's support to contest upcoming elections despite struggling to crush a bloody jihadist insurgency. The grim public mood today is the polar opposite from the optimism that swept the country in 2015, when Kabore rode to electoral triumph with more than 53 percent of the vote. Thousands of his supporters nonetheless turned out in a massive show of force, filling a 5,000-capacity sports stadium in Ouagadougou and 20 giant tents outside. "It's a real show of force to demonstrate our support for president Kabore," said Djenaba Traore, a 43-year-old member of the People's Movement for Progress (MPP) party who had travelled from the country's second city, Bobo Dioulasso, for the event. The prime minister, national assembly speaker and first lady also turned up at the stadium, ignoring the coronavirus pandemic, to voice support as thousands inside the stadium shouted "MPP Victory!" "It's a message to opposition political parties. They shouldn't think they can beat our champion," said Kader Tapsoba, a 46-year-old businessman. Crowds wearing the party colours of white and orange were bussed in from all over the country. Since Kabore took charge, a jihadist offensive has advanced across the nation, igniting ethnic squabbles, claiming at least 1,100 lives and forcing nearly a million people from their homes. Nearly a third of the country's provinces are in a state of emergency. Swathes of territory are de-facto no-go areas, and more than 2,000 schools have closed. The flow of foreign tourists has dried up, dealing a further blow to one of the world's weakest economies. Kabore's performance during this mounting crisis is now under scrutiny as the presidential ballot looms in November. "The surge of attacks and rising violence are due to the fact that there hasn't been an appropriate response to the threat," said security expert Mahamoudou Savadogo. But party leaders defended Kabore's track record, and executive secretary Lassane Savadogo said Kabore "is the best-placed candidate to be our flag bearer." MPP president Simon Comapore told AFP that Kabore's successes were "incontestable," citing road infrastructure projects, improvements in the health sector and greater access to drinking water. Kabore, 63, is also expected to secure the backing of a broad coalition of parties called the Alliance of Parties of the Presidential Alliance, or APMP. "Our goal is to have him elected on the first round and with a wider margin than in 2015. We want to go above 60 percent," declared Lassane Savadogo, who shares the same name as the security expert. In contrast, in one of the rare opinion polls to be conducted in Burkina Faso, a survey published last month by an NGO called the Centre for Democratic Governance (CGD), found 63 percent of respondents said they were "not satisfied" with Kabore's performance. Social discontent and the coronavirus pandemic are other factors in his slump. Kabore was close to former president Blaise Compaore, who was forced out in October 2014 by popular protests after 27 years in power. Other big names likely to stand in the elections are closely associated with the Compaore era, such as former prime minister Kadre Desire Ouedraogo and Eddie Komboigo, who heads Compaore's party, the Congress for Democrats and Progress, which was excluded from the 2015 vote. The crowded field is also likely to include opposition leader Zephirin Diabre, who was the runner-up in 2015, and Tahirou Barry, who stepped down as minister in Kabore's first government. Political analyst Drissa Traore said Kabore could point to some successes, notably in the development of Burkina's road network, but otherwise his record was sketchy. "Even so, he remains the frontrunner, given the opposition's problems in uniting," Traore said. ab-de/ach/wai
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