They were the first national elections in the country since the 2014 Burkinabé uprising and the departure of President Blaise Compaoré, who had ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years.

However, the restrictions were not applied retrospectively, allowing President Blaise Compaoré, who had been in office since 1987, to run for a further two terms; accordingly, he was re-elected in 2005 and 2010.

However, the vote sparked protests, with the National Assembly building, Ouagadougou City Hall and the Congress for Democracy and Progress headquarters set on fire.

[3] Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Honoré Traoré first assumed the role of acting head of state.

[4] The following politicians declared their intent to stand as presidential candidates, although some were barred from running: In April 2015 the interim legislature passed an electoral code banning any MPs who supported the constitutional amendment to scrap term limits from contesting the elections.

According to the court, preventing people from contesting the elections on the basis of a political stance was "a violation of their fundamental human rights".

[14] However, on the same day the transitional government charged Blaise Compaoré with "high treason" over his bid to change the constitution and run for a third term.

[15] The sudden charges were criticized by some, as they were perceived as a new manoeuvre from the transitional government to exclude all serious candidates from running in the upcoming elections.

The Constitutional Council accepted this argument, and on 10 September 2015 it struck Bassolé and Ouedraogo from the list of approved candidates.

Of the 14 remaining candidates, Roch Marc Christian Kabore and Zéphirin Diabré, both of whom served in the government under Compaoré but later broke with him and went into opposition, were viewed as the leading contenders.

He stressed that he had no interest in politics and was only getting involved due to the "special situation", and he said that power would be returned to civilians "as soon as conditions are there".

[27] In other comments, he said that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held on a new timetable, which would be determined through consultations with "the concerned actors, notably the political parties and civil society organisations".

[29] On 20 September, a draft agreement was announced that would involve allowing the previously excluded candidates to participate in the election.

[32] Facing the prospect of a confrontation with the regular army as well as ongoing street protests by opponents of the coup, who felt that the proposed terms offered too many concessions to the coup leaders, Diendéré said that the CND would abide by the draft agreement's provision for the return of civilian rule.

Partial results released on 30 November, reflecting votes from 253 out of 368 communes, showed Kaboré with a strong lead over Diabré, 54.27% to 29.16%.

[41][43] Results for the parliamentary election were announced on 2 December 2015, showing that Kaboré's party, the MPP, placed first with 55 out of 127 seats, but fell short of a majority.

[44] Final official results from the Constitutional Council were announced on 15 December 2015, confirming that Kaboré won the election with 53% of the vote.

[47] The head of the electoral commission, Barthelemy Kere, said that "this election went off in calm and serenity, which shows the maturity of the people of Burkina Faso.