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Ouagadougou – Burkina Faso held local elections on Sunday seen as a key step in the country’s transition to democracy from the authoritarian rule of Blaise Compaore.

About 24,000 members of the security forces were on duty for voting day, which had initially been scheduled for January 31 but was postponed following the January 15 jihadist attacks that killed 30 people in Ouagadougou.

About 5.5 million people are eligible to cast ballots to elect around 20,000 municipal councillors, who will then choose mayors for 368 towns.

They are the first local elections in the impoverished West African country since president Compaore was overthrown in a popular uprising in October 2014 after ruling the country with an iron fist for 27 years.

The subsequent interim government dissolved all municipal councils set up under Compaore and replaced the mayors with non-elected prefects.

Presidential elections last November were won by Roch Marc Christian Kabore, a leading figure in Compaore’s ouster who had held a number of posts under the former president before falling out with him.

After casting his ballot on Sunday, Kabore appealed for a high turnout, describing the vote as “one of the most important links that are missing in the chain”, and which will “allow the accomplishment of this mission of grassroots democracy”.

But turnout was low in the hours after polls opened at 0600hrs (06:00 GMT), compared to the November elections.

“The turnout isn’t as high as in the presidential vote,” said the head of the national election commission (CENI) Barthelemy Kere.

CENI on Saturday announced that voting was postponed in three districts due to “vandalism” against polling stations.

Amado Ilboudo, 56, was the first to vote in the Gueswenbala school, in Ouagadougou’s Nagrin district.

“I voted for municipal councillors and the next mayor will repair our roads and fix the recurrent water shortages in our neighbourhood,” he said.

Adja Tapsoba, who is also a candidate for municipal councillor in Ouagadougou’s Patte d’oie district, said she was voting for “change”.

“I don’t want things as they were before, that’s why I’ve come to vote,” Tapsoba said.

Results are expected before the end of the week.