CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE _____________________________________________________________________ dialogue or a general meeting on democracy in order to discuss any matter of national interest and find, through consensus, solutions to be submitted to the executive and legislative bodies, as well as a framework for social communication aiming at better explaining economic and social choices, difficulties and obtained results, collecting peoples’ expectations and anticipating social crises. Objective 2: Promote constitutional democracy, including political contests and the opportunity to make choices freely, the rule of law, the declaration of human rights and the primacy of the constitution i. Summary of the CSAR 165. Democracy and electoral consultations. Since 1991, elections have been held regularly in Burkina Faso with a view to consolidating the foundations of the resurgent democracy. The rate of participation in the various elections (which varies between 25% and 50%, with two exceptions) shows that only few Burkinabe vote. Illiteracy and a lack of interest in election races might explain this deficiency. The latest polls held in 2005, 2006 and 2007 reveal several weaknesses in the electoral process of Burkina Faso: 96 • A deficiency in respect of the institutional capacities of actors involved in the electoral process, that is, in the branches of CENI on the one hand and in opposition political parties on the other. There is thus a need to professionalise the branches of CENI. Although partners in principle at all stages of the electoral process, political parties often lack the will to fulfil this role and moreover do not obtain the human and financial resources necessary to carry out such responsibility. The same is true of their missions, consisting in voter education and in monitoring and control so as to ensure the regularity of the electoral process and thereby prevent fraud. Many candidates and opposition parties do not have trained and committed supporters or delegates at polling offices owing to the lack of financial resources due to the paltry compensation paid by CENI. Selfishness and divisiveness seem to be an insurmountable obstacle to the formation of effective electoral alliances. This is compounded by the relative lack of capacity of political parties to initiate election programmes. As a result, they generally opt for voter mobilisation that is based on demagogic promises and the proliferation of gadgets, T-shirts, items of clothing, etc. • The absence of a credible opposition as an alternative and the unlikelihood of democratic opposition: in recent years, opposition parties in Burkina Faso have been regularly confronted with internal dissidence and with defections, both of which have weakened them. This thus points