Burkina Faso’s military junta has disbanded all political parties and annulled the laws governing them, according to a government decree ratified on Thursday.

The move follows actions that activists say have restricted civic freedoms and suppressed opposition voices since the military seized power in a 2022 coup. Political party activities have effectively ceased under the junta’s rule.

The decree requires that all party assets be transferred to the state, the government-operated news agency reported.

Emile Zerbo, Minister of Territorial Administration, said the dissolution followed authorities’ findings that the parties had deviated from the principles on which they were founded. “The government contends that the excessive number of political parties has resulted in divisions among citizens and has undermined the social fabric,” he said after Thursday’s Council of Ministers meeting where the decision was approved.

Zerbo added that proposed legislation to regulate the creation of future political parties and organisations will be presented to the legislature “at the earliest opportunity.”