OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, Ramadan 29, 1436, July 16, 2015, SPA -- Burkina Faso's transitional president has signed a decree fixing the date for the first round of presidential elections on Oct. 11, AP reported. Michel Kafando signed the order late Wednesday. Parliamentary elections will take place the same day. Transitional authorities will hand power over to a newly elected government. They have ruled since a popular uprising forced Blaise Compaore to resign after 27 years in power. The National Independent Electoral Commission announced last week that some 5.5 million voters have registered. Burkina Faso has a population of about 17 million people. --SPA 15:15 LOCAL TIME 12:15 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w