OUAGADOUGOU — The Sahel state of Burkina Faso will hold a referendum to usher in a "semi-presidential" constitution on March 24 next year, the election commission announced on Monday.

The electoral rolls would be updated ahead of the vote, said commission chairman Newton Ahmed Barry.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore promised during the 2015 election campaign to bring in a new constitution to replace the 1991 version put in place by Blaise Compaore, who had seized power in a 1987 coup.

Compaore was ousted in a popular revolt in October 2014 after he tried to extend his 27-year grip on power.

If adopted, the new constitution would limit the president to two mandates and include a procedure to remove the president via the constitutional court.

Presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for 2020 when citizens living outside the country will be able to vote for the first time.

The country has a population of 18 million with another 11 million Burkinabians living abroad, according to the foreign ministry.

Under a new electoral law only holders of a passport or a national identity card will be registered to vote.

Ouagadougou has been battling an escalating wave of jihadist attacks over the last three years. — AFP