The adoption of the new Burkina Faso constitution in 1991 by popular referendum started the countries process of democratization and opening of the political landscape. Although the Burkina Faso constitution of 1991 spoke only marginally on matters of decentralization the new institutional subdivision nevertheless laid the groundwork for future development. Thirteen regions, 45 provinces, and 350 departments form the institutional divisions in Burkina Faso governing thousands of villages and a few urban areas. Each one of these government-layers have their own responsibilities and tasks. The first municipal elections were held in 1995, valid for a period of five years and were successfully repeated in 2000 and 2006, new elections are planned for 2011.
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Since 1995 local government has developed rapidly under the guidance of the Ministère de l'Administration Territoriale et de la Décentralisation. In 1998 a set of guidelines; Texts for the Orientation of the Decentralisation (TOD) was created to plan the course towards further decentralization. Throughout this process and following the first two municipal elections more institutional departments were created. The first years of the twenty-first century saw the completion of municipalization and institutionalizing local government in Burkina Faso. In April 2006, the established rural communities, as new political subdivision closest to the people, were elected for the first time.
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Now Burkina Faso embarks on the third step of its decentralization policy plan. After constitutionalization and legalization the third step is the actual transfer of responsibilities and operational implementation of local government. This step is eleborated in the Strategic Framework for Implementation of Decentralization (CSMOD). This strategic framework was created by the government and donors active in Burkina Faso as well as the local government association, the Association des Municipalités du Burkina Faso. The framework is part of a bigger program called the General Code of Local Government created in 2004. Programs such as these show promise in the development of local government. The upcoming local elections in 2011 provide a good opportunity to continue these developments.
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