Burkina Faso’s military junta leader Ibrahim Traore has dissolved all political parties.

Emile Zerbo, Burkina Faso’s minister of territorial administration, announced on Thursday that the nation’s council of ministers approved a decree scrapping political parties.

“The government believes that the proliferation of political parties has led to abuses, fuelled divisions among citizens and weakened the social fabric,” Mr Zerbo said.

While stating that laws governing future political parties’ operations will be drafted “as soon as possible”, Mr Zerbo said the dissolution of political parties offers the country an opportunity to rebuild.

Before the coup, the country had more than 100 registered political parties, of which 15 were represented in parliament after the 2020 general election.

The decree disbanded  all political parties and political formations.

A law repealing the statutes and regulating party financing, and the status of the opposition leader, will be sent to the current transitional council, according to minutes of the cabinet meeting.

All the assets of the dissolved parties will be transferred to the country.