Burkina Faso factions approve transition plan

Burkina Faso's army has reached an agreement with opposition parties, civil groups and religious leaders for a transition to civilian rule, almost two weeks after the ousting of President Blaise Compaoré.

The different factions "unanimously voted" in favor of a transition charter on Thursday, said Henry Ye, president of the commission representing the main power players in the West African country.

"Today was the day of compromise," said Hervé Kam, a member of the Balai Citoyen civil society group. "Both soldiers and civilians agree on a civilian transition. The institutions of the transition will be led by civilians."

The new head of state, who will not be permitted to stand in the elections, will be chosen by a special college made up of eight religious and traditional leaders and five members each from the army, opposition and civil society. The president will then name a prime minister to appoint a 25-member government.

While the agreement is significant, it has no time frame. The college can complete its task in days, weeks or months.

The charter also calls for a 90-member national transitional council to serve as a legislative body. It will be composed of 30 opposition representatives and 25 members from both civil society and the army.

The remaining 10 seats will go to other political parties, including members of Compaoré's former ruling coalition, which did not participate in the negotiations.

Lt. Col. Isaac Zida declared himself head of state on Nov. 1 after Compaoré resigned and fled the country last month, amid mass protests against his efforts to change the constitution to seek re-election in 2015 after 27 years in power.

The African Union last week issued Burkina Faso a two-week deadline to restore civilian rule or face possible punishment, though regional bloc ECOWAS later advised against international sanctions.

Zida, who has repeatedly pledged to hand over power to a civilian authority, is expected to enact the charter within days, participants in the talks said.

Under Compaoré, Burkina Faso has emerged as a regional power broker and key Western ally against Islamist armed fighters. France has a special forces unit and surveillance drones based there as part of a regional security operation.

Al Jazeera and wire services