OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — The military general who has taken power in a coup in Burkina Faso says the Oct. 11 date for planned national elections appears to be "too soon."

Gen. Gilbert Diendere was named the West African country's new leader on Thursday, a day after soldiers arrested the country's interim president and prime minister.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Diendere criticized the electoral code that had banned members of ex-President Blaise Compaore's party from taking part in the elections.

Diendere was head of the elite presidential guard for Compaore, who was forced from power after 27 years last year in a popular uprising.