'Big Man' holds on to power

President Blaise Compaore, one of Africa's last remaining "Big Men" who seized power in a bloody coup 23 years ago, was re-elected by a landslide in a vote rejected by the opposition.

The country's electoral commission said yesterday that Compaore, a former army captain who took power in 1987, won Monday's presidential poll with 80.2 per cent of the vote, according to provisional results.