Rawiri Waititi has praised an African leader who has become popular as a symbol of resistance to the West. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has labelled Te Pāti Māori a threat to democracy after its co-leader Rawiri Waititi declared a West African military ruler to be his "modern day hero".
Burkina Faso's leader Ibrahim Traoré has grown in popularity across Africa and beyond, since seizing power in a 2022 coup, with many praising him as a symbol of resistance to the West.
Earlier this year, Waititi shared a video of Traoré on Instagram, along with a comment labelling the president his "modern day hero!".
"Tino Rangatira is not only a domestic commitment, it is an international determination. Our fight for political, economic, social and cultural independence and liberation is not a dream, it's a decision!" Waititi wrote.
The post provoked the ire of the ACT Party's leader, who cited it as evidence of Te Pāti Māori's "insane views".
"Rawiri Waititi once said he's not a fan of democracy. We need to take him seriously," a spokesperson for Seymour said in a statement.
"His hero is a Marxist dictator who has delayed elections and banned homosexuality... [Te Pāti Māori is] not in Parliament to uphold democracy, but wreck it."
Te Pāti Māori declined RNZ's request for a response: "We will not be commenting on this".
ACT leader and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has labelled Rawiri Waititi a threat to democracy. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Ahead of the 2023 election, Waititi told Newshub he was "not a fan of democracy", describing it as "a tyranny of the majority".
Who is Ibrahim Traoré?
Traoré took power in Burkina Faso in September 2022, ousting a fellow military officer amid growing frustration at ongoing jihadist violence.
Since then, he has styled himself as a pan-African revolutionary and pledged to restore security and national sovereignty.
A BBC profile in May said Traoré had built the "persona of a pan-Africanist leader determined to free his nation from what he regards as the clutches of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism".
While Traoré commands strong support among some youth and rural communities, rights groups have raised alarm over increasing authoritarianism, human rights violations and media suppression.
Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch accused the Burkina Faso government forces and allied militia of massacring more than 130 civilians in March.
Under his leadership, the country has shifted away from former colonial power France and drawn closer to Russia.
A researcher at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, Enoch Randy Aikins, told the BBC that Traoré's radical reforms had buoyed his popularity.
"He is now arguably Africa's most popular, if not favourite, president," Aikins said.
Traoré initially promised to hold elections in 2024 but subsequently delayed them until at least 2029.
In July 2024, the military junta announced a ban on homosexual acts, but it does not yet appear to have been enacted into law.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
