CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE
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percentage rises to 21.4% when it comes to avoiding a problem with the
police, is 14.9% for the enrolment of a child in school, and is 24.5% in respect
of obtaining an administrative document. More worrying, however, is the
response of individuals surveyed (amounting to a cumulative percentage of
52.7%) who said that a candidate or someone from a political party had
offered them something (food, a T-shirt, clothing or any other gift) in
exchange for their votes.
298.
In the administrative sphere, the sectors most affected by corruption
(according to the reports of RENLAC covering the period 2000 to 2006) are
the sectors of customs, the police/gendarmerie, taxation, justice, health and
public administration, town halls and education. However, it must be noted
with satisfaction that, although corruption remains a reality, the majority of
people interviewed believed that it is both a reprehensible and condemnable
act (71.1%).
299.
Ultimately, the results of opinion polls, even where they display bias, reflect
the perceptions that people have of their political class, their leaders and their
government. Such polls therefore call on every citizen to examine his or her
conscience and to change his or her behaviour radically, where necessary, so
that the republican virtue can be enshrined under the standards and values of
governance.
The legal framework for combating corruption
300.
Burkina Faso has acceded to, signed or ratified various instruments relating to
corruption, namely: (i) the African Union Convention on the Prevention and
Combating of Corruption, ratified on 31 March 2005; (ii) the United Nations
Convention against Corruption, ratified on 31 March 2005; (iii) the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, ratified in May
2002; (iv) the WAEMU Code of Transparency, adopted in May 2001; (v) the
WAEMU Treaty against Money Laundering, adopted in November 2002; (vi)
the ECOWAS Convention against Corruption; (vii) the National Policy
Document on the Combating of Corruption, adopted by the Council of
Ministers on 19 May 2006; (viii) codes of ethics (some of which are currently
being adopted) in the areas of general administration, finance, education,
health, defence and security forces; and (ix) the declaration on property.
301.
In addition, the regulatory framework in the area of prevention or repression
can be traced directly or indirectly to various fundamental or basic texts: the
constitution, the criminal code, the electoral code, the law on the financing of
political parties, the legal regimes applicable to employment and civil
servants, the tax code, the customs code, the rules governing the organisation
of competition, and the code of advertising.
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