{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141029014726/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/senator-coons-urges-president-of-burkina-faso-to-respect-constitutional-term-limit", "Senator Coons urges president of Burkina Faso to respect constitutional term limit", "2014-10-28", "2014", "2014-10", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Christopher Coons", "C001088", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 28, 2014\n                    CONTACT: Ian Koski at 202-224-5042 \n\t\t\t\t\t Senator Coons urges president of Burkina Faso to respect constitutional term limit \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t President Compaor\u00e9 and the National Assembly are considering amending the constitution to allow another term \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tWILMINGTON, Del. \u2013 U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, issued the following statement following demonstrations by tens of thousands of Burkinab\u00e9 Tuesday against attempts by the president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaor\u00e9, to amend the constitution to allow for a third term in office.\n\u201cDemocratic constitutional processes are vital to ensuring free and fair societies,\u201d Senator Coons said. \u201cPresident Compaor\u00e9 and Burkina Faso\u2019s National Assembly should withdraw their plans to amend Article 37 of the country\u2019s constitution, which currently limits elected Presidents to two terms.\u00a0President Compaor\u00e9 stood for reelection in 2010 knowing he was eligible to serve for only one more five-year term. He should adhere to the existing constitutional limitation and agree to hand over power following next year\u2019s planned election.\u00a0\n\u201cThe African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance explicitly rejects constitutional changes in order to maintain power for the benefit of the incumbent as \u2018illegal\u2019, and an amendment to Article 37 is a clear violation of this principle,\u201d Senator Coons continued. \u201cThe Burkinab\u00e9 marching in the streets of Ouagadougou on Tuesday want their leaders to follow the rules. It is important that the government of Burkina Faso enforces a fair and credible democratic process and respects the term limits set forth in its constitution. The United States supports countries that have enshrined democratic principles, and which abide by transparency, accountability, and participation of the electorate in government institutions.\u00a0It is critical that Burkina Faso\u2019s leaders make the right choice and end this effort.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n                    \n        \n        \n\t\t\n                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags:\n                            \n                                \n                                Foreign Relations,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Subcommittee on African Affairs,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Burkina Faso,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Africa", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141029014726/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/senator-coons-urges-president-of-burkina-faso-to-respect-constitutional-term-limit"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.001955009996891, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}